ZVEI: Orders are declining

In May 2023, nominal incoming orders in the German electrical and digital industry were 6.5% below the previous year's figure. "This means that the value of incoming orders fell for the third month in a row," said ZVEI Chief Economist Dr. Andreas Gontermann. "In contrast, the range of accumulated order backlogs remains above average at a good five months."

Production slightly higher

The decline in domestic and foreign orders has recently been balanced: the former fell by 6.7 percent in May, the latter by 6.4 percent. Orders from the eurozone were 5.1 percent lower than a year ago. Customers from third countries reduced their orders by 7.2 percent.

In the first five months of this year, incoming orders were 1.9% lower than in the same period of the previous year. This was offset by a 3.4% increase in domestic orders and a 6.0% decrease in foreign orders (eurozone minus 6.5%, non-EU countries minus 5.8%). The real production of electrotechnical and electronic goods in Germany, adjusted for price effects, stagnated in May (up 0.1% year-on-year). In the overall period from January to May, it was 4.7% higher than in the previous year.

Sales higher than in the previous year

Total turnover in the domestic electrical and digital industry amounted to 19.7 billion euros in May 2023, 8.1% higher than in the previous year. "This means that nominal growth was only in single digits for the first time this year," says Gontermann. Domestic and international sales rose by 10.5 percent year-on-year to 9.5 billion euros and 6.1 percent to 10.2 billion euros respectively in May. Revenue with business partners from the eurozone grew by 7.7 percent to 3.7 billion euros. Turnover with third countries amounted to 6.5 billion euros (up 5.3%).

Previous year's revenue exceeded

In the first five months of this year, aggregated industry revenue amounted to 98.9 billion euros. This was 13.5% higher than the corresponding figure for the previous year. Between January and May, business with domestic customers amounted to 47.9 billion euros (up 16.4%). Sales with foreign partners increased by 11.2% to 51.0 billion euros (eurozone up 10.3% to 18.5 billion euros, non-EU countries up 11.8% to 32.5 billion euros).

Business climate cools slightly, but still positive

The business climate in the electrical and digital industry also weakened in June - the third decline in a row. Companies assessed both their situation and their general business expectations slightly less favorably than in the previous month. "Overall, however, the climate remains positive," said Gontermann. At 906,000, the number of employees in the sector was 3.4 percent higher than a year ago.