Germany’s mechanical engineering industry saw a gentle increase in orders in the first four months of the year, but the overall picture does yet indicate a rebound from the long-term lull.
In the first quarter, the companies in this sector lifted orders by 4% in comparison with Q1 2025, Kallanish learns from their federation VDMA. The orders came mainly from abroad, rising 6% year-on-year, while domestic order activity actually suffered another dip, by 2% y-o-y.
VDMA also cautions that the positive quarterly figure is based on an irregularly strong intake in March. After two disappointing months, March saw an increase of 27% y-o-y, boosted by orders for large plant-building projects. “Such special effects are welcome, but they paint a rosier picture than the reality, and do not signal a broad upswing,” says VDMA chief economist Johannes Gernandt.
He notes the wars in the Gulf region and in Ukraine, as well as US protectionism are keeping industries away from making investments into production equipment. He also criticises the German government, which he says after one year in office has stood out more for internal disagreements, rather than for providing conditions that improve German machinery makers’ international competitiveness.
The mixed picture for the industry continued into April. Order intake was 4% higher than in the corresponding 2025 month. But again, foreign orders went up 8%, while domestic orders remained 7% below April 2025.
Gernandt therefore reiterates the industry’s demands to the government. “We need lower taxes for companies, more flexibility with the workforce, an alleviation of costs for bureaucracy, and a reform of the social insurance system,” he says.
Author: Christian Koehl
