In March 2025, incoming orders in the mechanical and plant engineering sector in North Rhine-Westphalia were 22% down on the previous year.
Domestic demand was up 3% and incoming orders from abroad were down 29%. The eurozone contributed to this result with a plus of 36% and the non-eurozone with a minus of 45%.
In the more meaningful three-month period from January to March 2025, incoming orders fell by 4% compared to the previous year. Orders from Germany rose by 22%, while 14% fewer orders were generated from abroad. Demand from Europe exceeded the previous year’s level by 23%, while incoming orders from non-European countries fell by 27%.
The development of the order volume compared to the previous year’s March initially appears sobering. However, the comparative month of 2024 was by far the month with the highest order volume in the whole of last year. The significant decline in orders therefore comes as no surprise, but can be partly explained by the so-called base effect.