Structural change in the industry
Turnover from services reaches 166 billion euros
German industry is changing: increasingly, it is not just the products themselves that are making money, but also the services that accompany them. According to a new study by the Munich-based ifo Institute, industrial companies will generate around EUR 166 billion in revenue from product-related services - such as consulting, assembly or maintenance - in 2024. By comparison, the turnover of the entire hospitality industry in Germany was around EUR 138 billion in the same year. "In 2024, industrial companies are estimated to have turned over 166 billion euros with product-related services, such as consulting, assembly or maintenance. This means they exceeded the turnover of the entire hospitality industry in Germany, for example, which amounted to around EUR 138 billion," says ifo economic researcher Timo Wollmershäuser.
The share of services in mechanical engineering is particularly high
The differences between the sectors are clear. The share of services is particularly high in mechanical engineering, where they account for 13.2% of turnover. It is followed by vehicle construction with 7.3 percent and the electrical industry with 6.8 percent. In sectors such as food and beverages or textiles and clothing, services only play a subordinate role. Overall, however, there is a clear trend: the proportion of product-related services has risen in all industrial sectors over the past ten years.
The study also shows that innovation is closely linked to service turnover. Companies with research and development achieved an average of 7.8 percent of their turnover through services; those that also use artificial intelligence increase this share to 8.6 percent. "There is a positive correlation between a company's innovation activity and its turnover from product-related services," says ifo researcher Stefan Sauer.
Special question of the ifo business surveys
The data comes from a special question in the ifo Business Survey of July 2025. 1,680 companies representative of the manufacturing industry in Germany took part in the survey. The survey asked for the percentage breakdown of turnover for 2024: production and sale of goods, product-related services and other activities. Official statistics do not yet explicitly record product-related services.
The detailed results are published in the article "Structural change in the manufacturing industry: Product-related services are gaining in importance" by Stefan Sauer and Timo Wollmershäuser.
The study shows: If you want to be successful in industry today, you have to be able to do more than just manufacture products. Consulting, service and accompanying services are increasingly becoming a central business area - a change that is likely to transform German industry in the long term.
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