“ According to preliminary results from the German Federal Statistical Office , machinery exports recorded nominal growth of 6.1 per cent yearon-year for 2022 . The industry ’ s export value therefore reached a record € 192.4 billion , an increase of € 11.1 billion . Adjusted for prices , companies recorded a real decline of 1.3 per cent last year ,” it commented .
“ Admittedly , price effects do make the annual balance sheet look good . But in real terms , too , the result is respectable . The sharp decline feared by many did not occur in 2022 ,” emphasised VDMA chief economist , Dr . Ralph Wiechers . On an annual basis , the fourth quarter particularly showed a strong increase of 9.3- per cent in nominal terms .
“ In addition to numerous indicators , such as lower freight rates , the latest export data prove that disruptions in global supply chains have continued to dissipate ,” Wiechers analysed . “ In addition , export expectations among machinery and plant manufacturers have recently risen — a good omen for the start of 2023 , which is still a new year .”
The VDMA confirmed the USA continues to be the most important export market for machinery deliveries from Germany . Last year , the lead over China was even further extended . Exports to the United States increased by a nominal 20 per cent to 24.8 billion euros . In contrast , exports to China fell by a nominal 2.3 per cent to 18.9 billion euros . This means that 12.9 per cent of all machinery deliveries from Germany went to the United States , while China ’ s share of 9.8 per cent is now below ten per cent for the first time since 2016 .
Machinery exports from Germany to the EU-27 increased last year by a nominal 5.0 per cent to 84.4 billion euros . EU partner countries therefore account for a total of 43.9 per cent of German exports . Machinery exports to France ( up 5.2 per cent to 12.9 billion euros ), Italy ( up 9.0 per cent to 9.6 billion euros ) and the Netherlands ( up 6.1 per-
The VDW ( German Machine Tool Builders ’ Association ) is expecting production in the machine-tool industry to grow by nine per cent this year to a volume of 15.5 billion euros cent to 8.5 billion euros ) were above the EU average .
“ In European countries outside the European Union , German exporters recorded particularly strong growth in Turkey ( up 20.8 per cent to 4.8 billion euros ), the United Kingdom ( up 9.7 per cent to 8.3 billion euros ) and Switzerland ( up 11.8 per cent to 6.1 billion euros ),” outlined the VDMA .
“ Machinery exports to Russia fell sharply last year by 49.4 per cent to 2.8 billion euros . For December 2022 alone , the books show a drop of more than 65 per cent . German machinery exports to Russia now account for just 1.4 per cent of total German machinery exports , which corresponds to 19th place in the export rankings . Before the Ukraine war , Russia was still within the top ten customer countries . India , on the other hand , recorded a significant increase in share . With a nominal increase in exports of 28.2 per cent to 3.9 billion euros , India now ranks 14th among the countries buying machinery and equipment from Germany ,” it added .
Machine tools in focus
The VDW ( German Machine Tool Builders ’ Association ) is expecting production in the machine-tool industry to grow by nine per cent this year to a volume of 15.5 billion euros . In nominal terms , this is only ten per cent below the record result of 2018 .
At its annual press conference recently , Franz-Xaver Bernhard ( Chairman of the VDW ) said : “ We have largely overcome the effects of the pandemic . This is reflected in the growth in production and in order levels , which are only just short of the record result of 2018 .”
The industry has entered the current year with a significant backlog of orders . Even though the gap between orders and sales is currently closing , the German Federal Statistical Office is still reporting a twelvemonth backlog of orders for the machine-tool industry .
“ This means that companies are well placed to weather any slump in orders in the first half of 2023 , as suggested by the most recent figures ,” explained Bernhard . Capacity utilisation is also rising steadily , having returned to 91.1 per cent in January 2023 . The latest VDMA flash survey conducted at the beginning of December 2022 shows that 45 per cent of machine tool manufacturers are cautiously optimistic about the current year .
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