The good March results lead to a slight increase of 4 percent in the order books of mechanical engineering for the entire first quarter of 2026.
After two weak months at the beginning of the year, order intake in mechanical engineering in Germany unexpectedly rose sharply in March. This was particularly driven by orders for large systems and other high-volume contracts.
Overall, the report month of March showed an order increase of 27 percent compared to the previous year. Domestic orders rose by 17 percent, while foreign orders increased by 31 percent. The most significant impulses came from non-Euro countries (up 42 percent), while Euro countries saw a 2 percent increase in orders. 'These special effects are very encouraging. However, they unfortunately do not mark the beginning of a broad upswing, but rather beautify the situation,' says VDMA Chief Economist Dr. Johannes Gernandt.
'The wars in the Gulf region and in Ukraine, new tariff threats from the USA, and many uncertainties in the supply chains continue to cause a lack of investments - which many sectors of mechanical and plant engineering are feeling significantly,' he explains. 'For a sustainable upswing, the urgently needed structural reforms in German and European politics are also missing. A year after its start, the governing coalition in Berlin is primarily characterized by internal disputes, rather than making decisions that could put our companies in a better position in global competition. No one can benefit from a government that only makes announcements,' criticizes Dr. Gernandt.
The good March results also lead to a slight increase of 4 percent in the order books of mechanical engineering for the entire first quarter of 2026. From January to March 2026, orders from abroad increased by 6 percent, while domestic orders remained 2 percent below the previous year's level. There were 9 percent more orders from non-Euro countries, while Euro countries recorded a small decrease of 1 percent.
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