REGIONAL REPORT will continue to grow , while it will ease in industry and contract in construction . Order books continued to weaken in industry , and even more so in the structural works sector of the construction industry ,” said the bank .
“ Selling prices continued to moderate . According to business leaders , raw material prices continued to fall while finished goods prices remained virtually unchanged . In all three main sectors , the share of companies that increased their prices over the previous month stabilised at around pre‐COVID levels . Recruitment difficulties remained almost stable and still affected 45 % of companies ( down from 44 % in November 2023 ),” it continued .
Based on the survey results , together with other indicators , the Banque de France estimated that France ’ s GDP would increase slightly by 0.1 % in the fourth quarter , after a fall of 0.1 % in the third quarter , driven by market services .
Industrial activity
EVOLIS represents manufacturers of French machine tools and capital goods who actively contribute to the competitiveness and efficiency of French industry through the modernisation , digitalisation and decarbonisation of production in the main industrial sectors .
According to an economic survey carried out by EVOLIS among its members , published in December 2023 , industrial activity was expected to slow down in 2024 .
“ As indicated by the sudden weakening of industrial opinions on order books over the coming months , the slowing of the activity outlook will particularly affect the construction equipment sector which will see its turnover decline by 6 %,” said EVOLIS .
“ In the fluid equipment sector , the year 2024 will be characterised by a weak increase in turnover of around + 2 %, including + 3 % on the domestic market and + 1 % for export . Activity in the industrial equipment sector is expected to increase by + 1.7 % in 2024 , driven mainly by the export market . With the order book falling , workload in the design offices would be reduced compared to the expectations of business leaders . Finally , in the handling equipment sector , manufacturers remain more optimistic but still anticipate a slowdown with expected growth of just under 5 %,” it added .
The sixth edition of Global Industrie returns to Paris Nord Villepinte , France , from 25-28 March 2024 . This global showcase for industrial innovation is under the patronage of the French President , Emmanuel
Examples of strong industry sectors in France include aircraft manufacturing ; machinery ; automotive ; electronics ; pharmaceuticals , chemicals , food processing and metallurgy
The new Renault Scenic E-Tech .
The Eiffel Tower , Paris ( image : Cyril Mzn , Unsplash ).
Macron . It will host several French Ministers , elected officials , ambassadors and representatives of large industrial European professional organisations .
“ We expect to attract 2,300 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors over 100,000m ² of exhibition space with 1,500 machines in operation over four days ,” the show organiser , GL Events , told ISMR .
Machine tool market
EVOLIS reported in October 2023 that the French machine tool market had grown by 18 % over 2022 .
“ Demand for machine tools was mainly driven by the recovery of the aerospace and automobile industries . The aid released as part of the ‘ France Relance ’ plan has also supported manufacturers in their investments in machine tools . Finally , the surge in raw material prices was , at least partially , passed on by manufacturers in their selling prices , which accentuated the growth of the market in value ,” explained the association .
“ Domestic demand was largely met by overseas supply , with a 24 % increase in imports . Flows from Germany , France ’ s leading trading partner ( 22 % of imports ), increased by over 15 % in the 2022 financial year ,” it continued .
According to EVOLIS , after a mechanical rebound in 2021 , French production of machine tools decreased by almost 1 % in 2022 . Production reached € 798 million : machining machine tools represented 63 % of machines produced and forming machines represented 37 %. The production capacity utilisation rate in the machine tool manufacturing industry remained below pre-crisis levels throughout 2022 . French production , it said , also suffered from the disengagement of China , which reduced its imports from France by 39 % in 2022 . As a result , the French trade balance in the sector deteriorated in 2022 .
“ The year 2022 was characterised by two major movements in the distribution of demand for machine tools by customer sector . Firstly , the general mechanics and subcontracting sector gave way as the leading customer sector to the aeronautics industry , which represented 27 % of total machine tool sales in 2022 ( compared to 17 % in 2021 ). At the same time , the level of concentration of demand within traditional customer sectors reduced . To cope with the fall in demand from the automotive sector , which weighed heavily on the sector during the COVID-19 crisis , machine tool companies have strived to reduce their dependence on traditional markets by seeking new sectoral outlets ,” explained the association .
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