Keyword: Export - Import

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 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.

The order intake for metalworking machines, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, amounted to a total of $389.9 million in February 2025, an increase of 9.9% compared to January and 12.5% compared to January 2025.

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.

In January, mechanical engineering also recorded a slight decline in orders. Foreign orders had a stabilizing effect, while the order volume in the domestic market is a cause for concern.

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.

Renewable energies and maritime applications give the automation expert a boost

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.