German machine tool industry optimistic about market prospects

After two years of rapid development, the output of the German machine tool industry is still expected to usher in a slight growth of 1% in 2013. 'This means that the industry will return to the high point of 2008.' Martin Kapp, president of the German Machine Tool Builders Association, told the association's annual press conference in Frankfurt. Karp said that the development of the machine tool industry in 2012 was better than expected. Full-year orders and high capacity utilization boosted production throughout the year, boosting the machine tool industry by 9%, achieving an output value of 14.1 billion euros. In 2012, the export value of German machine tools reached a new level, reaching 9.5 billion euros, an increase of 20%, a record high. China remains Germany's largest exporter of machine tools. In 2012, China imported machine tools from Germany more than twice as much as Germany's second largest exporter, the United States, with a total value of about 2.4 billion euros, an increase of 14%. In order to modernize production lines, the US industrial sector also chose to import German machine tools. As of November 2012, German machine tool exports were a third higher than the record set in 2008. Even in Spain, which has a low sales baseline and was hit by the financial crisis, sales are still higher than the previous year. In the German domestic machine tool market, which is dominated by risk-averse intermediate customers, sales were relatively stagnant at 6.8 billion euros, still lower than the level before the financial crisis. Capacity utilization in January 2013 was 92.4%, slightly below the 2012 average. As of October 2012, the order backlog fell to 8.3 months, nearly a month less than in 2011. Orders in 2012 were as expected, down by a tenth from the 2011 peak. The demand mainly comes from the European and American markets and the forming process market. The largest market segment is the stamping process market in Germany and the international automotive industry. The overall volatility is low as the higher proportion of project economics is limited by the business cycle. According to the latest data in December 2012, wage expenditures in the machine tool industry increased by an average of 5%, and employment was about 71,000 people. In 2012, the output of the German machine tool industry was impressive, far ahead of its major competitors in the global market, and it was a well-deserved winner. Excluding exchange rate factors, China's machine tool production has declined, while Japan has stagnated; despite the active domestic market in the United States, its machine tool production has increased by 7%, but it is still inferior to Germany; at the same time, the increase in the total machine tool production in Europe has only reached half the level of Germany. In terms of exports, German machine tool suppliers once again kept pace with their Japanese counterparts. Oxford Economics once again made an optimistic forecast for the prospects of the German machine tool industry in 2013. By then, industrial production and fixed asset investment will usher in even greater growth on a global scale. Growth was concentrated in Asia and the United States. For the German machine tool industry, this means that order levels will remain flat, with the main stimulus still coming from Asia. Although China's machine tool orders have plummeted by 30%, according to recent indicators, its machine tool orders have rebounded again. In January 2013, the Purchasing Managers Index rose to 52 from its lowest point in August 2012. Industrial production also posted double-digit growth again. Karp said with confidence: 'Generally speaking, the macroeconomic environment in 2013 was good, which provided a lot of impetus for the development of the industry. In the past few months, early economic indicators such as the World Purchasing Managers Index and the German Machine Tool Industry IFO Economic Prosperity Index have It has also been on the rise.” But Karp also believes that, in contrast, German domestic market demand continues to be sluggish, mainly due to the discussion of increasing taxes in Germany, the faltering energy transition, high energy prices and European financial institutions. Certainty, coupled with incalculable market factors, especially the German government's announcement of higher wages for workers, has made German investors very uneasy. In 2012, about two-fifths of the world's machine tools were produced in China, with a total value of about 66 billion euros. Despite the slow growth of the current market, the demand for Asian machine tools will remain strong in the future, and the traditional Western European machine tool market will not be able to continue to meet this demand. German machine tool suppliers will face the challenge of adjusting their marketing and production structures. According to a recent survey by the German Machine Tool Builders' Association, in 2011, German suppliers' production operations in overseas manufacturing plants increased by nearly 60%, with an output value of 1.7 billion euros, and created 7,750 domestic jobs, a 15% increase in employment. . The overseas manufacturing plants of German suppliers are mainly concentrated in Switzerland, the United States and Brazil, and China is a rising star. In 2011 alone, German manufacturing in China increased by 55%. This momentum is expected to inject more energy into the industry while also hiring more staff. Karp firmly believes that division of labor and cooperation is a reasonable business model. Therefore, he believes that German machine tool suppliers should cooperate more closely. He said that division of labor and cooperation can effectively improve efficiency. He further stated that business alliance cooperation is not necessarily financial. Two markets that are far apart can also cooperate by providing service support and parts inventory.