REGIONAL REPORT
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Manufacturers are still benefiting from full order books that guarantee capacity utilisation at least until the middle of this year laser cut , punched and machined parts
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Energy saving
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“ The machine-tool industry has taken advantage of the transformation process among automotive manufacturers and redoubled its efforts to diversify its customer structure . According to our customer structure survey , the share of the automotive sector fell from almost 43 per cent in 2019 to around 31 per cent in 2021 ,” outlined the VDW chairman . Making gains , by contrast , are engineering and the manufacture of metal products .
“ Sentiment has also improved in Germany . The Ifo Business Climate Index for the capital goods and machine tool sectors rose sharply in January . There has even been a turnaround in the expectations for the automotive industry . Also , the global Purchasing Managers ’ Index is rising slightly for the first time in twelve months . This is particularly apparent in the eurozone with such important markets as Italy , Spain and France , but also in the UK and Turkey ,” added the VDW .
The construction market
The mood among customers is largely good , according to feedback from participants at the annual meeting of the VDMA Construction Equipment Specialist Group in Frankfurt at the beginning of February 2023 .
“ There are hardly any cancellations now . In nominal terms , the industry reached a new record last year . Even though the order intake in this period is down 21 per cent due to a base effect , in 2021 the order intake went through the roof as a result of the economic recovery after the pandemic outbreak . Manufacturers are still benefiting from full order books that guarantee capacity utilisation at least until the middle of this year . The only negative trend at the moment is in building construction , as higher interest rates are putting massive pressure on the residential construction sector ,” commented the Group .
“ Nobody fears production cutbacks due to the energy crisis ; our manufacturers want to expand their workforce or at least keep it stable ,” affirmed Franz-Josef Paus , Chairman of VDMA Construction – Equipment and Plant Engineering .
The industry expects strong support from Europe and North America ( for instance at the Conexpo event this March in Las Vegas ). Both the Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act should continue to provide bright prospects for European suppliers to the construction industry , VDMA believes .
“ We are impressed by this positive development , and we can only hope that this trend continues . Our construction equipment sector is currently proving resilient to the energy crisis , inflation and supply-chain disruptions ,” Joachim Strobel , Chairman of the VDMA ’ s Construction Equipment Specialist Group , concluded . n
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