The decline in orders continued in the mechanical and plant engineering sector in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the significant period from November 2023 to January 2024, incoming orders fell by 20 percent compared to the previous year. Both domestic orders and orders from abroad recorded a decline of 20 percent each.
“The geopolitical challenges and the weak economy are clearly reflected in incoming orders. The mechanical and plant engineering industry in North Rhine-Westphalia continues to lack impetus, both from Germany and abroad”, explains Hans-Jürgen Alt, Manager ProduktionNRW. “There is currently no end in sight to the lean period.” Demand from Europe fell short of the previous year's level by 20 percent and incoming orders from non-European countries fell by 19 percent.
In January, incoming orders in the mechanical/plant engineering sector in Germany as a whole were 10 percent below the previous year's level in real terms. Domestic orders were down 11 percent and foreign orders fell by 9 percent compared to the same month last year. At 19 percent, the drop in orders from eurozone countries was significantly more severe than the 5 percent decline from non-eurozone countries.
VDMA Chief Economist Dr Ralph Wiechers explains: “The global economic recovery is still a long time coming, and growth forecasts for Germany have even been revised downwards. In addition, geopolitical challenges and uncertainties remain. There is still a lack of positive impetus for investment behaviour. Only for parts of foreign business does the hope of a bottoming out remain intact.”
