In the first 10 months of this year, German steel and metal processing companies saw their
production decrease slightly by 1.3 percent compared to the same period last year, according to German steel and metal industry association WSM. German metal and steel companies' exports increased by 2.6 percent in October, while price-adjusted sales to domestic customers were five percent lower compared to the same month of 2011.
Meanwhile, in the first 10 months new orders for German steel and metal processing companies decreased by 3.6 percent year on year, while new orders from the domestic market fell by five percent compared to January-October 2011.
According to WSM, activity in the sector has improved in November. Both the current business situation and the prospects for the next six months were judged more positive than in the previous month. This raises cautious hopes that a return to growth could be seen in the first half of 2013.
For this year, however, WSM does not expect any improvement in economic development, so that the original forecast of three or four percent growth is hardly expected to be achieved. Currently, reaching the level of the previous year is already an optimistic scenario.