In May 2023, new orders in North Rhine-Westphalia’s mechanical and plant engineering sector exceeded its prior-year result by 28 percent in real terms.
Demand from Germany recorded an increase of 111 percent and incoming orders from abroad fell by 16 percent. The euro zone contributed to this result with a drop of 10 percent and the non-euro zone with a decline of 19 percent.
In the more meaningful three-month period March to May 2023, incoming orders increased by 1 percent year-on-year. Orders from the domestic market increased by 30 percent and orders from outside the eurozone decreased by 13 percent. Demand from the European region fell 13 percent short of the previous year’s figures, and from non-European countries 14 percent short.
Major domestic orders in May led to a special effect with significantly oversubscribed results for incoming orders.As the decline in incoming orders from abroad shows, the global economic burdens continue to be severe. A sustained improvement in order intake, which has been weak for months, is not yet expected.