Economy

OVE Plasmatec, a service provider for the surface refinement of elastomers, reports revenue growth for 2024 despite a challenging environment

The mechanical engineering sector started the year with a cautious export result. However, March showed a slight upward trend. But the weaknesses of the markets in China and the EU remain significant.

The USA and China remain the leaders in the export ranking of the machinery industry in 2024. Overall, exports have fallen by a nominal 5 percent to just under 200 billion euros.

Renewable energies and maritime applications give the automation expert a boost

The German machine tool industry recorded a decline in 2024, but hopes for a recovery in the second half of 2025 with a new federal government.

The order intake in May was a pleasant surprise - albeit on a weak year-on-year basis. Overall, companies have recorded a slight increase in orders this year so far, but global uncertainty remains high.

Order intake in the US machinery sector slows down in May but retains growth compared to the previous year.

Orders from Euro countries result in a small order increase in mechanical engineering in the first half of the year. The trade dispute with the USA, however, continues to burden orders even in June.

In February, the order books in mechanical engineering unexpectedly filled up by a real 8 percent. Part of this increase is due to large-scale business, and part is due to component business.

Orders for manufacturing technology amounted to a total of $357.3 million in January 2025, which is 29.8% less than in December, but 5.7% more than in January 2024. While the order value was 16.2% higher than in an average January, the ordered units were the lowest in a January since 2016.