German demand for mechanical engineers increases in 2017

Because of favorable economic conditions, Germany’s mechanical engineering companies have a lot of orders. (picture alliance/Uwe Anspach/dpa/archive)

The books of Germany's mechanical engineering companies are full of orders. 

Driven by rising domestic business, price-adjusted orders received in the first six months were 7 per cent higher than in the same period last year, the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) said in Frankfurt on Monday.

"With this increase, the positive expectations for the current year have been met," said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers.

Domestic business, which had been weak in the past, has increased by 10 per cent. The key export-oriented industry received 6 per cent more orders from abroad than in the last annual period.

"The propensity to invest in Germany has picked up noticeably, which benefits our industry," said Wiechers. 

Production at Germany companies has increased because of the favorable economic conditions and this, in turn, meant the companies need to expand their production capacities. 

The turnover of the mechanical engineering companies with their approximately 1.3 million employees rose by 4 per cent in the first half of the year.

In view of the well-filled order books, the industry is entering the next few months with confidence.

Although there was a small slowdown in sales and production in May, however, this should be offset in the coming months, Wiechers said. 

Demand did drop for a period in May but by June, orders had picked up strongly again by 13 per cent. Domestic orders received 12 per cent more than in the same month last year, foreign orders 13 per cent more.

The VDMA recently predicted production to grow by 5 per cent in price-adjusted orders by the end of 2018.

Last year, the sector, which is characterized by small and medium-sized businesses, saw an increase of 3.9 per cent. 

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