BSS, AFP :
Falling domestic demand weighed on Germany’s key mechanical engineering sector in May, the VDMA industry federation said Wednesday.
The manufacture of machine tools is a key driver of German industry and exports.
In May, overall incoming orders declined by two percent compared with the same month a year earlier, VDMA said in a statement.
Domestic orders were down four percent while export orders stagnated, VDMA added.
Using a three-month comparison to iron out short-term fluctuations, VDMA said overall orders were flat in the period from March to May.
Foreign orders edged up slightly by one percent in the three-month period, while domestic orders fell by two percent, VDMA calculated.
“Germany’s mechanical engineering sector is still waiting for a breakthrough,” said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers.
“The year got off to a rather mixed start,” he said.
Nevertheless, the federation was confident that during the course of the year, the sector would approach its target for a two percent increase in output, Wiechers said.
He said the Greek crisis had not left any mark on the sector so far.
“Greece isn’t a large market for us,” accounting for just 360 million euros ($400 million) or 0.2 percent of all exports in the sector last year, Wiechers said.
Falling domestic demand weighed on Germany’s key mechanical engineering sector in May, the VDMA industry federation said Wednesday.
The manufacture of machine tools is a key driver of German industry and exports.
In May, overall incoming orders declined by two percent compared with the same month a year earlier, VDMA said in a statement.
Domestic orders were down four percent while export orders stagnated, VDMA added.
Using a three-month comparison to iron out short-term fluctuations, VDMA said overall orders were flat in the period from March to May.
Foreign orders edged up slightly by one percent in the three-month period, while domestic orders fell by two percent, VDMA calculated.
“Germany’s mechanical engineering sector is still waiting for a breakthrough,” said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers.
“The year got off to a rather mixed start,” he said.
Nevertheless, the federation was confident that during the course of the year, the sector would approach its target for a two percent increase in output, Wiechers said.
He said the Greek crisis had not left any mark on the sector so far.
“Greece isn’t a large market for us,” accounting for just 360 million euros ($400 million) or 0.2 percent of all exports in the sector last year, Wiechers said.
