German machinery sector posts 5% growth

Frankfurt, Germany – German plastics and rubber machinery sales grew by 5 percent, one percent more than previously predicted, according to VDMA, the country’s Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association.

“We now believe the trend will continue at the same high level in the year ahead,” said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, the association’s chairman, expressing his satisfaction with the result.

The industry, according to VDMA, expects sales to top €7 billion for the first time.

Orders from customers in Germany, which had managed maintained its levels the previous year, dropped owing to “cyclical factors”.

“In the period from January to October domestic orders were 10 percent below the previous year’s level,” said VDMA.

Orders from abroad, however, were up by 11 percent, with the Euro zone growing at a rate of 12 percent and the rest of the world at 11 percent.

“The export trend is dominated by deliveries to the countries of the EU; German plastics and rubber machinery was in particular demand in the four biggest markets, Poland, Italy, Great Britain and France,” said Thorsten Kühmann, the association’s managing director.

German deliveries to Russia weakened again while the Americas region was on the positive side.

In Asia, India recorded strong growth following several years of declining delivery volumes, albeit from a low base, said VDMA.

“By contrast, there was a marked drop in exports to China,” the report said, adding that figures for Japan and Taiwan also dropped.

In south east Asia, all the major markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,  Thailand and Vietnam, increased their machinery purchases from Germany.

The association predicted a moderate growth of 2 percent average annual growth for the industry in Germany during 2015 to 2017.

European machinery manufacturers, it added, would grow by 1.5 percent and the global plastics and rubber machinery industry by 3.2 percent.