German machinery manufacturing orders fell by more than 10%

The German Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Association (VDMA) said on the 2nd that new orders in the country's machinery and equipment manufacturing industry in May fell by 12% year-on-year at an annual rate. Orders from both domestic and foreign sources fell by 12% in May, the association said. But total orders for the industry in the January-May period were still up 6% from a year earlier. Waterman, an expert of the association, pointed out that the sharp appreciation of the euro and the rise of steel prices have had a certain impact on the development of the industry, and the new orders and profit margins of the machinery manufacturing industry have both declined. However, the Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association still expects the industry's total output value to increase by 5% this year to 190 billion euros, maintaining growth for five consecutive years. In 2007, the output value of German machinery manufacturing industry increased by 11%.