In March 2023, order intake in the mechanical and plant engineering sector in North Rhine-Westphalia fell 10 percent short of its prior-year result.
In March 2023, order intake in the mechanical and plant engineering sector in North Rhine-Westphalia fell 10 percent short of its prior-year result. Demand from the domestic market was down 6 percent and orders from abroad fell by 12 percent. The euro zone contributed to this result with a drop of 10 percent and the non-euro zone with a decline of 12 percent.
In the more meaningful three-month period January to March 2023, incoming orders decreased by 14 percent year-on-year. Orders from the domestic market fell by 8 percent and from abroad by 18 percent. Demand from the European region fell 7 percent short of the previous year’s figures and from non-European countries by 21 percent.
New orders in North Rhine-Westphalia continue to lag behind the previous year’s figures. In view of the existing high level of uncertainty, such as the geopolitical challenges and inflation, customers continue to hold back on their investments. In the first quarter, incoming orders from non-European countries were particularly disappointing. The figures are put into perspective against the background of the continuing high order backlog of almost twelve months.