World market for machines
VDMA expects 4 percent growth in 2018
New machines and systems were also in demand worldwide last year, despite all the trade disputes and political squabbles. According to estimates by VDMA economists, sales of machinery rose by a total of 4% to 2.6 trillion euros in 2018.
Mechanical engineering in Asia showed above-average growth. With an increase of 5% to just under EUR 1.34 trillion, Asia remained by far the largest manufacturing region in the machinery industry. Just over half of total global machinery sales were generated there.
The pace of growth in Europe as a whole and in the EU countries as a whole was in line with the global average of plus 4%. Although the EU countries produced significantly fewer machines (694 billion euros) than Asia, they produced just over twice as many as the USA (up 2 percent to 334 billion euros). "The growth in global machinery sales is pleasing, but could have been even higher in a calmer political environment. We will probably only really see the consequences of the trade disputes or Brexit this year due to the sometimes long lead times in the mechanical engineering sector," commented VDMA Chief Economist Dr. Ralph Wiechers on the result.
Germany has held its position as the world's third-largest producer of machinery since 2013. Last year, the sales volume reached 297 billion euros (up 4 percent). This means that Germany accounted for a good 11 percent of global machine sales. China was once again well ahead of the pack. A total turnover of 856 billion euros meant an increase of 7 percent on the previous year in euro terms.
In Japan (4th place), machine manufacturers were also able to increase their turnover by 2% to 264 billion euros. Italy, number 5 in the global mechanical engineering sector, increased its turnover by 4 percent to 126 billion euros. In the case of Italy and the USA, depreciation relief provided a tailwind. The top five countries in the ranking (China, USA, Germany, Japan, Italy) together account for 72 percent of global machinery sales.
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