Keyword: Export - Import

The Association of the German Turning Parts Industry evaluates the year 2024.

The German machine tool industry recorded a decline in 2024, but hopes for a recovery in the second half of 2025 with a new federal government.

Orders for manufacturing technology amounted to a total of $357.3 million in January 2025, which is 29.8% less than in December, but 5.7% more than in January 2024. While the order value was 16.2% higher than in an average January, the ordered units were the lowest in a January since 2016.

In January, mechanical engineering also recorded a slight decline in orders. Foreign orders had a stabilizing effect, while the order volume in the domestic market is a cause for concern.

The USA and China remain the leaders in the export ranking of the machinery industry in 2024. Overall, exports have fallen by a nominal 5 percent to just under 200 billion euros.

Mechanical engineering feels the impact of the recession - yet companies have only reduced their workforce by just under 1 percent in 2024. Even now, core staff should be retained as much as possible.

Orders for manufacturing technology, as measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report published by AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, amounted to a total of $513.8 million in December 2024, the highest level since March 2023.

German manufacturers produced precision tools worth 9 billion euros in 2024 and ended the year with a significant loss. The forecasts for 2025 are also cautious.

AMF has to cope with declining sales in 2024 and aims to return to a growth path in 2025.

The overall result of orders in 2024 in the machinery and plant engineering sector is disappointing. The wait for a turnaround continues. Better framework conditions in Germany are an important aspect.

The tool manufacturer Karl-Heinz Arnold GmbH (Arno Tools) reports a revenue decline of 5.5 percent to around 54 million euros for 2024 after the record year 2023.

The machine factory Berthold HERMLE AG has held its ground well in the current year 2024 despite very challenging economic conditions and was able to stabilize its sales in the third quarter at the previous year's level.