Production NRW Order intake in mechanical and plant engineering falls short of previous year's result

In September 2023, incoming orders in North Rhine-Westphalia mechanical and plant engineering fell short of the previous year's result by 45 percent in real terms. 29 percent fewer orders came from domestically and 50 percent fewer from abroad. The euro area contributed to this foreign result with a minus of 29 percent and the non-euro area with a minus of 56 percent. 

Incoming orders fell by 28 percent year-on-year in the less volatile three-month period from July to September 2023. Domestic orders fell by 14 percent and orders from abroad fell by 34 percent. Demand from Europe remained 17 percent behind the previous year's figures and from non-European countries 40 percent. 

Differences between domestic and international orders 

Orders in the first three quarters of 2023 show that they missed the previous year's results by 14 percent. There were 3 percent more orders from domestically and 21 percent fewer from abroad, with non-European countries contributing minus 11 percent and European countries minus 25 percent. 

Against the background of the same month of the previous year, September 2022, the significant decline in orders can be seen in September, which was by far the month with the strongest orders last year. The strong negative order development can therefore be explained - although not completely - by the so-called base effect. The challenging environment is affecting the ordering behavior of mechanical engineering customers and is depleting the order backlog in mechanical engineering.