The recovery that began in the last quarter of 2009 was sustained in 2011. “The growth in incoming orders for German plastics and rubber machinery continued into the third quarter,” said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the VDMA Association. “On that basis, we are raising our sales forecast for the current year from 18 to 22 per cent.” As a result German manufacturers’ sales are set to rise to a new all-time high of just under six billion euro in 2011.
“Between January and September, new orders increased by 15 per cent,” added Thorsten Kühmann, the Association’s Managing Director. “Orders from customers in Germany rose by 13 per cent year on year, while those from abroad recorded a 16 per cent increase over the same period. However, based on last year’s very high level, the rates of growth in incoming orders slowed as the months went by.”
The industry anticipates a decline in sales of 7 per cent in 2012. Ulrich Reifenhäuser summed up the mood in the sector as follows: “This will have been a record year for many firms in the industry, but they expect the economy to slow down again next year.”
