Vdma figures: excellent first quarter for Germany

The annual assembly of Vdma (the German association of machinery manufacturers) presented the market figures for the first quarter 2010. Beyond expectations, the incoming order results recorded an 87 percent increase over the same period of 2009. Demand from abroad grew by 109 percent, while domestic demand increased by 45 percent. In April, the positive trend continued with a 72 percent growth.
Despite such positive figures, Vdma is sticking to the forecast issued at the beginning of this year, namely an overall industry expansion by 10-15 percent. Export results are still negative (-17 percent), as the time lapse to turn orders into turnover is longer. However, some sectors have a positive sign: sawmill machines have scored plus 13 percent, planing machines plus 2 percent.