Germany’s machinery exports shrink by 22.9 pct in Q2

Germany’s machinery exports fell by 22.9 percent year-on-year to 35.2 billion euros (41.98 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020, the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) announced on Tuesday.

April and May “proved to be particularly weak months” due to restrictive measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to VDMA. In June, machinery exports already fell “less drastically” after the first travel and transport restrictions were eased.

“Companies have recently been able to breathe a sigh of relief in the export business,” said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers. “But it will still be a bumpy road back to normality.”

Machinery exports from Germany in the first half of the year 2020 were 14.1 percent below the previous year’s figure.

Machinery exports to countries of the European Union fell by 17.3 percent in the first six months of the year, while 11.3 percent less machinery was delivered to the rest of Europe, according to VDMA. Russia stood out as Germany’s only top customer country to record a 4.5-percent increase in exports in the first half of the year.