Politics & Associations

Machine orders in the US in 2025 increased by 17.8% compared to the first four months of 2024.

The first quarter of 2025 resulted in an order increase of a total of 4 percent - it was the first positive quarterly balance of orders in three years. March also closed with a pleasing order increase of 4 percent.

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the USA decreased by an annual rate of 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025 (January, February, and March), reports the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The VDWF raises awareness of the industry's importance with the poster campaign 'Think global, source local!'

On March 18, 2025, the Association of German Tool and Mould Makers (VDWF) invited to the 'Practical Forum on Plastics Technology' for the fifth time. The online event gathered around 80 participants who engaged in seven expert presentations on the main topic 'Injection Molding in Europe'.

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.

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 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.

Mechanical engineering feels the impact of the recession - yet companies have only reduced their workforce by just under 1 percent in 2024. Even now, core staff should be retained as much as possible.

Milling Meeting, Eroding Meeting and Practical Forum 'Additive Manufacturing' in June 2025