Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders¡¯ Association), Frankfurt am Main. (Source: VDW)
Germany - In the fourth quarter of 2016, order bookings in the German machine tool industry fell by 4% compared to the preceding year¡¯s equivalent period. Both exports and domestic orders showed a roughly equal decline. For 2016 as a whole, the rise came to 7%, with orders from abroad up by 10%, while domestic orders ended up at plus/minus zero.
¡°Although 2016¡¯s fourth quarter performed less strongly than the preceding quarters, the German machine tool industry ended 2016 with yet another order record, thus confirming the upbeat forecast of the previous year,¡± comments Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the sectoral organisation VDW (German Machine Tool Builders¡¯ Association) in Frankfurt am Main.
