Jul 21, 2015
Falling domestic demand weighed on Germany's key mechanical engineering sector in May, the VDMA industry federation said Wednesday.
The manufacture of machine tools is a key driver of German industry and exports.
In May, overall incoming orders declined by two percent compared with the same month a year earlier, VDMA said in a statement.
Domestic orders were down four percent while export orders stagnated, VDMA added.
Using a three-month comparison to iron out short-term fluctuations, VDMA said overall orders were flat in the period from March to May.
Foreign orders edged up slightly by one percent in the three-month period, while domestic orders fell by two percent, VDMA calculated.
"Germany's mechanical engineering sector is still waiting for a breakthrough," said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers.
"The year got off to a rather mixed start," he said.
Nevertheless, the federation was confident that during the course of the year, the sector would approach its target for a two percent increase in output, Wiechers said.
He said the Greek crisis had not left any mark on the sector so far.
"Greece isn't a large market for us," accounting for just 360 million euros ($400 million) or 0.2 percent of all exports in the sector last year, Wiechers said.
Source: Expatica Germany