Cautious sigh of relief
by Hans Diederichs
In November 2020, companies from Germany recorded growth in orders from within Germany as well as from abroad for the first time since the beginning of the reporting year.
Overall, order intake in November was up 5 percent year-on-year in real terms. A slight increase in domestic orders of 1 percent was supplemented by a stronger rise in foreign orders of 7 percent. Customers from eurozone countries ordered 4 percent more machinery and equipment, while orders from non-eurozone countries were up 9 percent. "The result is pleasing, even if the weak prior-year base makes a big contribution to it. In the entire fourth quarter of 2019, the order level was quite low," said VDMA chief economist Dr. Ralph Wiechers. "What matters now is whether the visible positive trend of recent months can continue. After all, the machinery and plant engineering sector is not immune to setbacks in this fragile environment," he summed up.
In the less volatile three-month period September to November 2020, order intake fell by 2 percent year-on-year in real terms. Although domestic orders were up 2 percent, foreign orders were 3 percent below their prior-year level. Orders from eurozone countries contracted by 5 percent, while orders from non-eurozone countries were down 3 percent.
Source: VDMA Photo: Shutterstock