No turnaround in German electrical exports

"Even though the most recent decline was smaller than in the previous months of the current year, there is still no real turnaround in the export trend," said ZVEI Chief Economist Dr. Andreas Gontermann. In the first nine months of this year as a whole, aggregated industry exports totaled 185.4 billion euros - a drop of 3.4% compared to the same period last year.

Imports of electrical and electronic products to Germany in September were more or less on a par with the previous year (+0.1% to €21.8 billion). In the overall period from January to September 2024 inclusive, electrical imports amounted to €188.2 billion, which represents a year-on-year decline of 7.0%.

In September 2024, the German electrical and digital industry exported goods worth €13.0 billion (- 4.9%) to industrialized countries. Growth was recorded here with Sweden and the Czech Republic. Exports to Belgium, Switzerland, the USA and Spain declined moderately. Business with Japan, Austria, France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy and Denmark saw larger declines. Deliveries to Taiwan slumped by 45.5% to 188 million euros, although severe weather conditions and a relatively high prior-year figure may have been partly responsible for this.

From January to September 2024, aggregated industry exports to the group of industrialized countries amounted to 119.0 billion euros - a decrease of 5.1% compared to the previous year. Sector deliveries to emerging markets showed a positive trend in September, rising by 1.5% year-on-year to €7.2 billion. Exports to Ukraine (+95.2% to €122 million), Brazil and South Africa increased significantly. Growth was more moderate with India, Turkey, Romania and Hungary.

"Exports to China also saw a small increase of 0.4% to EUR 2.0 billion in September, after falling by a tenth in the previous reporting month of August," says Gontermann.

In turn, deliveries to Poland, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico decreased in September. Exports to Russia (- 19.6% to € 44 million) remained in sharp decline. In the first nine months of this year, German electrical and electronic exports to emerging markets were almost on a par with the previous year at € 66.4 billion (- 0.3%).