According to the ZVEI, the German electrical and electronics industry recorded a 7.7% drop in incoming orders in January compared to the previous year. While domestic orders declined significantly (-15.3%), orders from abroad fell only moderately by 1.1%.
"The subdued order activity in 2019 continued for the time being at the start of this year. The effects of the coronavirus are not even included in the January figures," said ZVEI Chief Economist Dr. Andreas Gontermann. Compared to the previous month, electrical companies hardly adjusted their production plans in February - although the coronavirus effect has hardly been taken into account here either. This also applies to the business climate, which fell slightly in February after four consecutive increases and is now more or less at the zero line. Both the current situation and general business expectations were rated worse than in January.
At the end of 2019, the German electrical and electronics industry had a total of 885,400 employees in Germany. "That was just under 5,000 fewer than at the end of 2018, meaning the number fell slightly for the first time in three years," said Dr. Gontermann.
Turnover in the German electrical industry amounted to €14.8 billion in January - a decrease of 3.4% compared to the previous year. Domestic sales fell by 4.8%, while foreign sales declined by 2.1%.
PCB market: 2019 was characterized by falling sales and fewer incoming orders for PCB manufacturers in the DACH region. The main reasons for this were the uncertainty caused by Brexit, the crisis in the automotive industry and the trade conflict between the USA and China as well as the USA and Europe, as reported by the ZVEI PCB and Electronic Systems Association.
Sales in the 4th quarter of 2019 fell by 11.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. In 2019 as a whole, sales fell by 11.1% compared to 2018. However, the two previous years were characterized by the shortage of copper foil in 2017 and the shortage of components in 2018. As a result, orders shifted back to Europe in 2017 and 2018. This was also reflected in incoming orders. Compared to the previous third quarter, the order volume fell by almost 7%, while the value of new orders fell by 11.4% over the course of the year as a whole
The automotive sector in particular played a role here. This sector was unable to realize the long-term planned order and production volume in light of the diesel scandal and the switch to alternative drive systems. PCB manufacturers do not expect any significant improvement in 2020. Despite the drop in sales, the number of employees only fell by 2.2% in the quarter under review. -dir/vk-
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