According to a survey presented on Nov. 7 at the German Mechanical Engineering Summit in Berlin, sponsored by VDMA, the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, the months-long decline in orders is now clearly leaving its mark. Around 60% of the 700 companies surveyed in October stated that they currently have a lower order backlog than the long-term average; and 22% expect that the current order backlog will not support production in the coming year. This has an impact on sales expectations.
For 2024, one in five companies (20%) expects turnover to stagnate, while a further 23% anticipate a decline of up to 10%. Just under 35% expect a price increase of up to 10%. “All of this confirms our forecast that 2024 will not be an easy year for the mechanical and plant engineering sector,” VDMA head Karl Hauesgen said. “We continue to expect a real decline in production of 2%.” Most recently, the association had confirmed a forecast that production will fall by 2% in the current year.
