Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - The German electrical and digital industry is suffering from weakening demand from abroad. In May, exports shrank by 7.6% to 18.7 billion euros, according to the industry association ZVEI in Frankfurt. "After the previous interim increase in April, the latest renewed decline in deliveries means that the recovery in foreign trade in electrical goods is still being delayed," said ZVEI Chief Economist Andreas Gontermann. From January to May 2024, exports in this important industrial sector totaled 102.9 billion euros, a drop of 2.9%.

According to the ZVEI, this was due to declines in business with all major industrialized countries, including the USA, France and China. Deliveries to the People's Republic, the largest customer country for the German electrical industry, fell by 5.3% to EUR 2.1 billion in May following growth in the previous months.

Imports of electrical products to Germany fell by 10.5% to 19.3 billion euros in May, even more sharply than exports. In the first five months, imports amounted to 104.1 billion euros - 8% less than in the previous year.

With a turnover of around 238 billion euros and more than 900,000 employees in 2023, the electrical and digital industry is one of the largest industrial sectors in Germany.

The country comparison

In May 2024, the German electrical and digital industry delivered goods worth 12.0 billion euros to industrialized countries. This was 8.7% less than a year earlier. The only increase in May was in exports to Denmark, which rose by 9.6% to 256 million euros.

In contrast, declines were reported in business with all other major industrialized countries. Deliveries to the USA (-3.0% to 2.0 billion euros), the Czech Republic (-3.2% to 795 million euros), South Korea (-4.7% to 284 million euros), France (-8.0% to 1.1 billion euros), Spain (-8.0% to euros), Spain (-8.2% to € 641 million), the UK (-8.4% to € 717 million), Japan (-8.5% to € 217 million) and Belgium (-9.8% to € 409 million).

Exports to Sweden (-10.2% to 395 million euros), the Netherlands (-10.9% to 1.1 billion euros), Switzerland (-12.0% to 592 million euros), Austria (-16.9% to 747 million euros) and Italy (-19.0% to 814 million euros) saw double-digit declines. The decline in exports to Taiwan was particularly pronounced (-28.0% to EUR 219 million).

In the overall period from January to May 2024, electrical exports to the group of industrialized countries totalled 66.3 billion euros - a drop of 4.6% compared to the previous year.

"However, deliveries to China, the largest customer country for the German electrical industry, also fell by 5.3% to €2.1 billion in May, after the majority of the previous months of the current year had seen growth again," said Gontermann.

The emerging markets were supplied with goods worth 6.7 billion euros by the German electrical and digital industry in May 2024. Compared to the previous year, this was a decrease of 5.5 percent.

Growth was recorded in industry deliveries to South Africa and India, which rose by 1.8% to 132 million euros and 252 million euros respectively.

In contrast, exports to Malaysia (-1.7% to 194 million euros), Turkey (-3.0% to 339 million euros) and Romania (-5.4% to 413 million euros) fell slightly. Exports to Poland (-7.7% to 843 million euros), Mexico (-9.0% to 277 million euros), Brazil (-10.0% to 141 million euros) and Hungary (-13.4% to 586 million euros) fell more sharply. The slump in exports to Thailand was particularly pronounced, falling by 21.7% to 91 million euros.

Cumulative electrical exports to the group of emerging markets from January to May amounted to 36.6 billion euros, 0.4% higher than in the same period of the previous year.