Although order bookings in the German machine tool industry fell for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter of 2011, the year as a whole concluded on a positive note with a number of record figures, according to figures from the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association). Bookings rose by 45 percent as a whole, with demand from German users rising by 46 percent and demand from foreign customers rising by 45 percent compared to the preceding year.
Although order bookings in the German machine tool industry fell for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter of 2011, the year as a whole concluded on a positive note with a number of record figures, according to figures from the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association).
Bookings rose by 45 percent as a whole, with demand from German users rising by 46 percent and demand from foreign customers rising by 45 percent compared to the preceding year. Turnover of 13.1 billion euros marked growth of 33 percent, the highest ever recorded. Exports rose 33 percent, while imports rose 43 percent. Capacity utilization averaged 93.8 percent, and order backlog was 9.3 months. The domestic market grew 38 percent.
Against this backdrop, the VDW anticipates a 5 percent rise in production output for 2012. Still, the organization says the high levels of these statistics indicate growth will slow. That’s particularly true for demand, due to uncertainty about such macro-economic risks as financial market turbulence and the Eurozone’s debt crisis.
Notably, although China is still the industry’s most important export market by far, with more than 2 billion of a total 8.1 billion euros, exports to the United States rose 71 percent. This reflects rising investment in plants and equipment from the nation’s industrial sector, particularly the automotive industry, the organization says.
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