With a critical view of the past year and cautious optimism for the coming months, the Association of the German Turning Parts Industry assesses the economic situation of its member companies. The current situation report continues to reflect challenging conditions but also indicates initial signs of stabilization.
As every year, the association surveyed its members about economic development, order situation, investments, and employment. The annual evaluation for 2025 included data from 47 companies with a total of 8,061 employees.
The economic development remained tense in 2025 as well. The revenues of the surveyed turning parts manufacturers fell by 4.8 percent compared to the previous year – following a decline of 7.4 percent in 2024.
Order backlog and export share stable
A cautious stabilization is emerging in incoming orders: with a decrease of only 0.8 percent, the decline was significantly lower than in the previous year, where the value was -7.9 percent. The average order backlog remained almost unchanged at around 33 weeks, providing companies with a degree of planning security. Nevertheless, more than half of the surveyed companies report insufficient utilization of their production capacities.
A stabilizing factor is the foreign business. The export share is 37 percent, slightly higher than the previous year's value of 36.3 percent. This underscores the strong international orientation of the industry.
Rising personnel costs, still weak investments
On the expenditure side, the share of personnel costs has continued to rise. It now stands at 34.7 percent of revenue, slightly above the previous year's value. In contrast, material costs have decreased slightly and are projected at 30.4 percent for 2025.
The number of employees has declined again in the difficult economic environment – for the second consecutive year by nearly 5 percent. By the end of 2025, 24 percent of companies were using short-time work to respond to weak utilization. At the same time, 13 percent of companies report a need for additional employees.
Investment restraint continues. The ratio (investments relative to revenue) remains at a very low level of 5.2 percent for the sixth consecutive year. Real expenditures per employee average €8,881 – this value is again about 50 percent below the figures from the pre-crisis years. The investment focus remains unchanged on production, which receives about 79 percent of the funds.
Cautious optimism for the coming months
Looking ahead to the first half of 2026, a somewhat more positive mood is evident than in the previous year. 19 percent of companies expect an improvement in business development, 64 percent anticipate a stable situation, and only 17 percent expect further deterioration.
"The economic situation remains extremely challenging – not least due to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and now, very recently, in the Middle East. Nevertheless, we see initial signs that the situation could stabilize," says association managing director Werner Liebmann. "Our member companies are working intensively to secure their competitiveness and strategically position themselves for the coming years."
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