Despite the crisis in the fourth quarter last year, the year 2008 as a whole was successful for German mechanical engineering, according to the German association for mechanical and plant engineering (VDMA). Turnover generated in this line of industry grew by 8% or 15 billion Euros to 205 billion Euros. In particular successful was the development in the fields of process and agricultural engineering in which sales increased by more than 30%. At the end of 2008, capacity utilization in mechanical engineering in Germany amounted to 88.9% (at the end of 2007: 92%).
Exports of mechanical engineering products increased by 8% to 147 billion Euros in 2008. Most of all increased exports to the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Exports to Brazil grew by 29.4%, to Russia by 26.5%, to India by 19% and to China by 14.3%. Exports of mechanical engineering products to the USA, Great Britain as well as to Turkey and South Korea did not reach the respective volumes of the year 2007.
From the above development the German labour market could benefit as well. The total number of people working in the German mechanical and plant engineering industry amounted to 975,000 at the end of 2008 as compared to 935,000 at the end of the year 2007.
Output of machines and plants in the year 2009, however, is expected to fall by on average 7%, according to VDMA. However, there might be significant differences according to different fields of mechanical engineering.
The number of incoming orders in December 2008 was 40% (in real terms) below the level of December 2007. Domestic demand fell by 39%. Demand from abroad was down by 41% as compared to December 2007. Taking into account the period from October to December 2008 demand fell by 29% in comparison with the respective period in 2007 with domestic demand and foreign demand decreasing by 28% and 30% respectively. 