Machine tool orders more than doubled - mid-year figures in terms of sales as well

Frankfurt am Main, 4 August 2011. – In the second quarter of 2011, order bookings in the German machine tool industry rose by 83 per cent. Domestic order bookings increased by 72 per cent, export orders by 88 per cent. Overall, demand more than doubled during the first six months of 2011, 103 per cent up on the preceding year’s figure. Domestic customers ordered 96 per cent more than in the previous year’s equivalent period, and foreign customers 107 per cent more. The order volume was even 8 per cent above the figure in the reference period of the record year achieved in 2008.

“The continuingly buoyant level of demand has ensured a magnificent mid-year result”, confirms Gerhard Hein, Head of Economics and Statistics in the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), Frankfurt am Main. The growth rates, he added, are referenced to an already strengthened baseline from the preceding year.

Best order backlog level for several years

The sustained boom in order bookings is also ensuring a high level of capacity utilisation, which most recently in July of this year was at 94.7 per cent in comparison to 76.3 per cent a year ago. The order backlog, at 9.7 months, is at its highest for several years. At some manufacturers of customised machinery, who are receiving massive orders from the very vigorously expanding automotive industry, it is even higher. “Faster deliveries are being hampered by restrictive procurement options for the components”, explains Hein.

The machine tool industry remains cautious when it comes to capacity upsizing, not least in view of the resurgent uncertainty generated by current financing problems in Europe and the USA. “The shock from 2008/2009 is still deeply ingrained”, says Hein. On the other hand, he continues, companies also adopted a wait-and-see approach to payroll downsizing during the crisis. In May of this year, there were 65,560 people working in the German machine tool industry. Since the beginning of this year, almost 3 per cent additional personnel have been hired, corresponding to around 1,800 people.

For the year’s second half, Hein expects demand to be boosted by the EMO Hannover 2011. The world’s premier trade fair for the metalworking sector will be held from 19 to 24 September. However, the growth rates in order bookings, he adds, will become significantly smaller, because an exceptionally high level of demand has already been reached. The increase in sales of 30 per cent anticipated for 2011 is assured, though. During the year’s first half, sales rose by 50 per cent.

Background

The German machine tool industry ranks among the five largest sectors in the country’s mechanical engineering segment. It supplies production technologies for metalworking applications to all branches of industry, and makes a crucial contribution to innovation and to boosting productivity levels. Due to its absolutely key position for industrial production output, its development is also an important indicator for the economic vigour of the country’s industrial sector as whole. In 2010, the German machine tool industry produced machines and services worth 9.9 billion euros, and employed 64,100 people (firms with more than 20 staff). This corresponded to a 3-per-cent fall in production output compared to the preceding year.

Press Contact:
Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (VDW) e.V.
Sylke Becker
Leiterin Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Corneliusstraße 4
60325 Frankfurt
Tel. +49 69-756081-33
Fax +49-69-756081-11
s.becker@vdw.de
www.vdw.de


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