Machinery Manufacturers Increases Orders in the First Half of the Year by 85%

According to the latest statistics from the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Subcommittee of the German Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association (VDMA), German plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers’ orders in the first half of 2010 have soared by 85%.

Ulrich Reifenhäuser, president of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association, said in a statement released yesterday: “No one would have thought that this industry will see the highest increase of 85% in the first six months of the year; this outstanding performance gives us Full of optimism."

The number of orders from Germany's own country increased by 26%, and the export demand increased by 117%. Among them, orders for euro-zone economies increased by 51%. VDMA stated that the orders that have been filled so far have reached 6.3 months, which is 4 months higher than the same period of last year.

Reifenh?user said: "Despite last year's order growth rate fell to a minimum, this year's rapid growth proves once again that this industry is still full of vitality and hope for success."

However, despite the significant increase in orders, the total sales in January-June 2010 decreased by 3% from the previous year. VDMA stated that this is due to the relatively high level of domestic sales in the first half of 2009 (a decrease of 23%). Export sales increased by 7%).

According to VDMA's forecast, due to the rapid growth of new orders in the first half of this year, sales growth will reach 11% by the end of the year.

Reifenhäuser said that the improvement of the economic situation will provide an "ideal background" for the K show to be held later this year in Dusseldorf, Germany, which has always been the largest showcase window for the plastics and rubber machinery industry.

He said: "German producers hope to use [K-Show] to confirm that the rapid growth in the past few months has not only been driven by the suppression of demand, but reflects a steady volume of business and will be circulating in regional demand. The foundation is becoming more stable."

At the same time, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) announced that its member companies’ sales increased by 5.2% from the previous quarter.

In the three months to June, total revenue increased to 41.6 billion euros (359 billion yuan). According to the association's data, output increased by 1.5%, and capacity utilization increased by 2.8% to 85.6%, mainly due to the increase in demand for industrial customers in this industry in Germany and abroad.

VCI predicts that the output of this year will increase by 11%, and the total revenue will increase by 18%. However, after the sales peak that is restocked to meet the demand of end-users, the growth of market demand will slow slightly.