E-shots Web-exclusive: German machinery sales bloomed this summer

Based on promising figures for new plastics and rubber machinery orders, the German Plastics & Rubber Machinery Assn. (VDMA; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; www.plastics-rubber-machinery.info), which is part of the German Engineering Federation, is revising its previous sales forecast for 2007 from 3.5% to 7% (see immnet.com/articles/2007/August/3265 for the previous report).

“Companies' capacity utilization is very high,” says Thorsten Kühmann, the Association's managing director. “The level of orders in hand and the jump in orders in the summer months will secure their workload for the remaining months of 2007 and on into the coming year.” In fact, domestic demand has expanded steadily over several months to the point where it has now reached the level seen in 2000. (See table for current data.)

He cautions, however, “As far as the future is concerned, expectations are a little more muted-at the current high level it is hard to imagine that things can get much better.”

The VDMA's 183 members account for more than 90% of the German industry's sales, which hold 25% market share worldwide in output and exports.