Domestic orders fell by 36% and foreign orders by 51%. Orders fell by 35% in the first half of 2020. Domestic orders were 28% lower than in the previous year, while orders from abroad were down 39%.

"The figures for the second quarter clearly show the impact of the coronavirus lockdown," says Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW ), commenting on the results. Many customer industries, in particular the aviation and automotive industries, are experiencing a sharp drop in sales. Short-time working, temporary production closures and liquidity bottlenecks are the result. Global investment activity almost came to a standstill during the hard lockdown. However, it is encouraging that incoming orders appear to have bottomed out at the current level. In June, it increased noticeably compared to the previous two months.

However, experience shows that it will take even longer for this to reach the machine tool industry, a late-cycle sector as a manufacturer of capital goods. Accordingly, the industry's expectations for the next six months remain subdued. The sales trend underlines this attitude. In the first half of the year, turnover was 26% down on the previous year.

Companies that supply medical technology, electronics, driven by digitalization and 5G expansion, as well as parts of the mechanical engineering sector are in a slightly better position. "However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty in all sectors with regard to the risks of a second wave of infection, so it is difficult to make reliable statements about the timing of a stabilization of international investment activity," says Schäfer. Companies are now doing everything they can to get through the crisis, pushing ahead with their developments and trying to retain at least their core workforce with the help of short-time working. The number of employees in May of this year was 3.7 percent down on the previous year.