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More orders

June 3, 2013

Germany's mechanical engineering sector has experienced a boost due to rapidly rising orders from both domestic and foreign clients. Companies thus left behind an alarmingly weak start in the new year.

https://p.dw.com/p/18ims
Apprentice in a German machine tool company Photo: Michael Reichel (ari)
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

A marked surge in demand both at home and abroad gave Germany's manufacturing sector a boost throughout April, the VDMA industry association reported on June 3.

It said overall orders for the month rose by 8 percent compared with the same month last year. Domestic orders jumped by 6 percent, with foreign assignments going up as much as 10 percent.

"At last, we see an increase after what has been a rather disappointing first quarter," VDMA economist Ralph Wiechers said in a statement.

Rising orders, rising confidence

The association said it was important to make the April jump sustainable so that the sector could meet its target of two-percent growth throughout 2013.

"The April numbers aren't enough just to bring about a turnaround back to growth," Wiechers argued. "But rising demand from abroad in particular provides hope that machine tool customers will soon abandon their current reticence."

Recruiting older workers

The sector employs about a million people in Germany, making it a crucial pillar of Europe's biggest economy. It's mainly made up of small and medium-sized companies, but also includes DAX-listed blue chips such as ThyssenKrupp, Gea and Gildemeister.

hg/ng (dpa, AFP, Reuters)