Posts Tagged Manufacturing
Falling sales in German manufacturing
January 14th, 2013 | Thema: News
According to provisional information from the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), price-adjusted sales in November 2012 were 1.1 per cent lower than in October 2012, adjusted seasonally and for working days, after a minus of 0.5 per cent in October 2012 compared to September 2012. While domestic sales in November 2012 only fell slightly by -0.3 per cent, sales to foreign buyers declined much more by -1.9 per cent. Related to foreign markets, sales to the eurozone dropped by 1.0 per cent and sales to the rest of the world by 2.5 per cent.
In an annual comparison with November 2011, adjusted manufacturing sales were 3.6 per cent lower in November 2012, according to Destatis calculations. During this period domestic business contracted by 4.8 per cent, foreign sales by 2.2 per cent. The differing developments in foreign markets continued in these twelve months: sales to the eurozone dropped by 8.1 per cent, in contrast business with other foreign markets increased by 2.2 per cent.
Growth in mechanical engineering slows
November 7th, 2011 | Thema: News
According to current information from the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA, or the German Engineering Federation), order receipts in the German mechanical engineering sector were one per cent above the previous year’s result in real terms in September 2011. Domestic business fell by two per cent and foreign business rose by three per cent in comparison with the previous year’s level.
In a three month comparison, which is is subject to fewer short term fluctuations, from July to September 2011 there was overall growth of eight per cent on the previous year. Domestic orders went up by 13 per cent and foreign orders increased by five per cent. Thus according to the VDMA, a cyclical process of slowing growth with continually lower growth rates had continued, as expected.
Former East Germany catches up
January 3rd, 2011 | Thema: News
The industrial sector in the former East Germany has continued the catch up process over the past decade. This is the result of investigations carried out by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Cologne (Cologne Institute for Economic Research). However, the economic structure there continues to be characterised by small and medium sized enterprises and is oriented on the domestic market. But with exports of € 3,100 per inhabitant, the five states of the former East Germany are still a long way from the foreign strength of manufacturing industry in the former West Germany. In the western states the industrial sector exported goods worth an average of €8,000 per inhabitant.
However, things look better if sales in productive industry are compared: 73 per cent of the West German export value was achieved in this sector in 2009. It should also be taken into account that many small and medium sized enterprises in the East supply the strongly export oriented Groups in Western Germany; thus their products find their way onto international markets indirectly.
VDMA views growth in orders received with caution
December 7th, 2010 | Thema: News
Orders received by the German mechanical engineering sector were 32 per cent higher then the previous year’s level in October, according to current figures from the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbauer (VDMA, or German Engineering Federation). Domestic business for mechanical engineering companies grew by 25 per cent on the previous year and orders from abroad went up by us much as 35 per cent.
However, at the same time VDMA Head Economist Ralph Wiechers warned against reading too much into the figures and pointed to the poor figures from the crisis year 2009 on which the comparison is based. Thus, despite high growth figures, in many sub-sectors such as printing equipment, agricultural machinery and materials handling, orders in hand are still below pre-crisis levels. The VDMA also sees state support programmes that have promoted investment as one reason for the dynamic development, especially in the 2nd quarter.
Eurozone industrial orders decline
November 30th, 2010 | Thema: News
Orders received by manufacturing industry in the 16 euro countries fell faster than expected by experts in September. As reported by the EU statistics authority Eurostat, the decline was 3.8 per cent compared with August. Economists had expected a deterioration of merely 3 per cent. In Germany orders received weakened by 3.5 per cent. In comparison with September in the crisis year 2009 there has been a plus of 13.5 per cent in orders received in the eurozone. This is also below forecasts, which had assumed a rise of 15 per cent.
In the whole EU, with its 27 member states, orders received dropped by 2.5 per cent month on month in September. Year on year they were 13.4 per cent higher.