In the second quarter of this year, order bookings in the German machine tool industry increased by one percent year on year, according to the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW). Given the dominance of the German industry in the mechanical engineering sector, data released by the VDW are seen as a barometer for general business conditions in the EU.
Domestic orders in the German machine tool industry in the second quarter of the current year increased by 16 percent, while export orders were down seven percent, both compared to the same quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, order bookings in the German machine tool industry increased by six percent, with domestic order bookings increasing by 18 percent and export orders decreasing by one percent, all on year-on-year basis.
"The general uncertainty due to numerous trouble spots is causing foreign customers to hold back on new investment projects," said Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of the VDW, commenting on the decline in export orders. "Exports are showing signs of deceleration. One of the causes involved is the fall in deliveries to China, South Korea and India. Business with Asia is proving more sluggish than we had hoped" explained Schäfer.