Posts Tagged Mechanical Engineering
Temporary employment rate in German engineering at six per cent
January 2nd, 2012 | Thema: News
According to a current study from the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA, or German Engineering Federation), member companies currently employ around 57,000 temporary employees in additional to their permanently employed staff of 945,000 (status: September 2011). “The likelihood of being taken on permanently is high and our companies do not mainly use this instrument for costs reasons,” emphasised VDMA President Thomas Lindner at a press conference. According to the survey a good third of the companies assessed the chances of a temporary employee currently working for them being taken on permanently to be over 30 per cent. Lindner described temporary employment in the sector as a “bridge to permanent employment”.
Compared to previous surveys about temporary employment, the temporary employment rate in engineering has gone up from three per cent in 2005 and five per cent in 2007 to six per cent now. According to the results three out of four companies employ temporary workers. Those surveyed reported that savings were not at the forefront: 40 per cent of the companies said the financial expenditure for employing a temporary worker was comparable with that for a permanent member of staff. Borrowing workers is even the more expensive alternative for every third company. From the VDMA’s point of view, that the instrument is used nevertheless shows the positive readiness of companies to pay for the flexibility gained through temporary employment. In this manner companies avoid losing sales and revenues in time of good economic growth.
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.
Further growth in Chinese mechanical engineering
July 18th, 2011 | Thema: News
The Chinese market for machinery also grew in the first quarter of 2011, but with less dynamism than in 2010: the growth of 29.1 per cent was 14.4 percentage points below the plus in the first quarter of 2010. These figures have been reported by German Trade and Invest (GTAI), the Federal Republic of Germany’s agency for foreign trade and inward investment. The agency attributes the weakening in growth primarily to lower growth in the automotive sector, which gained merely 10.2 per cent in the first quarter. In contrast there were above average figures in construction machinery (58.6%) and in equipment for the chemicals and petrochemicals industries (32.8%).
Growth in machinery imports continues to be posted. Thus according to customs information machinery imports to the People’s Republic of China gained 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Observers expect growth of 20 per cent for the whole of 2011. In comparison: in 2010 Chinese machinery imports increased by 40 per cent to 125 billion US-dollars. At the same time Japan was able further to build on its position as the most important supplier ahead of Germany in the first quarter of 2011.
Orders received in mechanical engineering at high level
June 6th, 2011 | Thema: News
Orders received in the German engineering sector were 22 per cent above the previous year’s result in real terms in April 2011. This figure was reported by the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA, or German Engineering Federation). In a three month comparison less influenced by fluctuations from February to April 2011, there was on overall plus of 26 per cent in comparison with the previous year. Domestic orders were up by 24 per cent and foreign orders rose by 27 per cent.
“The high growth rates conceal an unfolding sideways movement at a high level, in foreign business above all. The various geopolitical and economic burdens are obviously having an effect,” said VDMA Chief Economist Ralph Wiechers when interpreting the result. Whether this would last or – as last autumn – it is only temporary will be shown in the next few months.
Further improvement in mechanical engineering order situation
May 9th, 2011 | Thema: News
In engineering the number of orders received in March 2011 was 18 per cent of the previous year’s level in total. This was reported by the Verband der Maschinen und Anlagenbauer (VDMA, or German Engineering Association). Domestic business and exports are developing in parallel to each other: both domestic demand and foreign business rose by 18 per cent.
In a quarterly comparison engineers posted a plus of 32 per cent in comparison with the same period in the previous year. With triple digit growth machine tools manufacturers achieved particularly outstanding values. At the same time the association is talking about a normalisation of growth rates, because March 2010 was the first month of strong orders after the crisis and the basis effect is continually declining.