Orders received by the German machine tool industry in the fourth quarter of 2024 were significantly down on the previous year’s figure — domestic orders were down 7% and export orders fell by 6%. In 2024 as a whole, incoming orders declined by 19% overall with orders from Germany down 9% on the previous year, while export orders fell by 24%. Dr Markus Heering, executive director of the
VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association) in Frankfurt am Main, said: “The situation remains challenging for our industry.”
He added that While the US market offers great opportunities for German manufacturing technology, which is regarded as indispensable, Trump's tariff policy harbours high risks. The ongoing turbulence in the global economy, including the threat of a trade war, is having an impact on the overall willingness of company’s to invest. He pointed out that the critical situation in the automotive and supplier industry is a particular burden.
Nevertheless, Mr Heering reports that there are also some glimmers of hope on the horizon – in the areas of aviation, medical technology, precision engineering, energy, shipbuilding and armaments, for example, which have accounted for a number of major orders in the past. Business in such areas as service, components, repairs, maintenance and conversions is also stronger than that in new machine sales. However, order volumes fell by 25% in all regions of the world last year.
No increase in momentum is expected until the second half of 2025, when it is anticipated that lower inflation and interest rates will support a recovery in investment. Dr Heering continued: “We expect the new German government to provide clear support in meeting all the points that the industry has been making for months now — cutting red tape, reducing costs, boosting competitiveness and investment activity, to name just a few.”
The impact of the two-year decline in orders received is now being felt in machine tool production, too. Here, levels continued to fall by a moderate 4% in 2024. A sharp decline of 10% is expected in 2025.