Orders for Germany’s mechanical engineering and plant engineering businesses remained flat in April as the sector struggled with weak domestic demand, according to figures released on Tuesday.
“For Germany’s mechanical and plant engineering industry, April was a month of mixed results,” the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA) said in a statement.
While orders from abroad rose by 4% month-on-month in real terms despite the war in Iran and other geopolitical tensions, domestic demand was down 7%, the VDMA said.
“The bottom line is that orders in April remained flat compared to the previous year,” VDMA Chief Economist Dr. Johannes Gernandt was quoted as saying.
Gernandt criticized the German government for what he described as insufficient action to boost the sector.
“There is still too much talk about measures to strengthen competitiveness and far too little action. We need lower corporate taxes, a more flexible labour market, real cost relief from bureaucracy, and a reform of the social security systems,” he demanded.
Orders were up by 5% in the less volatile three-month period from February to April, driven especially by large-scale orders in a strong March.
Demand was particularly high outside the eurozone, where orders were up by 9%.
Orders from euro-currency members remained flat, and domestic demand dropped by 2% over the period.