Machine toolsProduction remains at record level in 2019
The German machine tool industry is expecting production to grow by 2% in 2019, according to the annual press conference of the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW).
In addition, the British economic research institute Oxford Economics, the VDW's forecasting partner, expects a 4% increase in investments by the most important customer industries in Germany and a 3% increase in machine tool consumption. "Both indicators are relevant for the industry's development and are increasing significantly," emphasizes Dr. Prokop. In addition, there is high capacity utilization among customers and the trend towards more networking and automation, which requires further investment.
However, the positive factors are offset by the slowdown in orders. Following growth of 1% in the previous year, they turned negative by 2 percentage points in 2019. After strong growth, domestic orders in particular fell by 3%. Orders from abroad, on the other hand, are expected to maintain their level in 2019. America remains the clear growth driver. Canada and Mexico were also up. Further US-driven growth of 4% is forecast for the current year. Asia also remains positive. Although orders from China, South Korea and Taiwan were down, Japan and the Asean region are assets. Europe, on the other hand, turned slightly negative at 2% in 2019 after a strong increase in demand over the past three years. Until 2018, the euro countries in particular had proved to be a 'rock in the surf' with 9% growth.