The industry's export value thus reached a record value of 192.4 billion euros, an increase of 11.1 billion euros. Adjusted for price effects, companies recorded a real decline of 1.3% last year. "Price effects have a positive impact on the annual balance sheet. But the result is also respectable in real terms. The sharp decline feared by many did not materialize in 2022," says VDMA Chief Economist Dr. Ralph Wiechers.

On an annualized basis, the fourth quarter in particular showed a strong nominal increase of 9.3%. "In addition to numerous indicators such as lower freight rates, the latest export data shows that disruptions to global supply chains have continued to dissipate," Wiechers analyzes. "In addition, the export expectations of machinery and plant manufacturers have recently risen - a good omen for the start of 2023, which is still a new year."

USA export market grows significantly, China below previous year

The USA continues to be the most important export market for machinery deliveries from Germany. Last year, Germany even extended its lead over China. Exports to the United States increased by a nominal 20% to 24.8 billion euros. Exports to China, on the other hand, fell by a nominal 2.3% to 18.9 billion euros. This means that 12.9% of all machinery deliveries from Germany went to the USA, while China's share of 9.8% is now below 10% for the first time since 2016.

"The industry in China lost significant growth momentum from the second quarter of 2022. As a result, it was not only German machinery exports to China that fell short of the 2021 result. Turnover in the Chinese mechanical engineering industry itself also remained below the previous year's level. In contrast, the US economy proved to be very robust. This is leading to continued strong demand for machinery and equipment from Germany. With an already excellent technological competitiveness, the weak euro strengthened price competitiveness in this growth market," comments Wiechers.

Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and UK with strong growth in Europe

Machinery exports from Germany to the EU-27 increased by a nominal 5.0% to 84.4 billion euros last year. The EU partner countries thus account for a total share of 43.9% of German exports. Exports of machinery to the three most important customer countries in the EU-27 - France (up 5.2% to 12.9 billion euros), Italy (up 9.0% to 9.6 billion euros) and the Netherlands (up 6.1% to 8.5 billion euros) - were above the EU average. In European countries outside the European Union, German exporters recorded strong growth, particularly in Turkey (up 20.8% to 4.8 billion euros), the United Kingdom (up 9.7% to 8.3 billion euros) and Switzerland (up 11.8% to 6.1 billion euros).

Exports to Russia almost halved, India gains in importance

Machinery exports to Russia fell sharply by 49.4% to 2.8 billion euros last year. A drop of more than 65% is on the books for December 2022 alone. German machinery exports to Russia now only account for 1.4% of total German machinery exports, which corresponds to 19th place in the export ranking. Before the war in Ukraine, Russia was still one of the top 10 customer countries. India, on the other hand, recorded a significant increase in its share. With a nominal increase in exports of 28.2% to 3.9 billion euros, India now ranks 14th among the customer countries for machinery and equipment from Germany.