Commenting on the first calculations of 2020 production in the mechanical and plant engineering sector, Dr. Ralph Wiechers, VDMA Chief Economist, said: "According to preliminary calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, production in the mechanical and plant engineering sector in Germany in the crisis year 2020 fell by 12.1 percent in real terms compared to the previous year. We had last estimated the decline at 14 percent. The deviation is the result of somewhat smaller declines in production in November and December in the mid-single digits." Order volumes had also recovered significantly in the final months of 2020 compared to the rest of the year.

"But that doesn't change the fact that 2020 represents the worst performance since the financial crisis of 2009," Wiechers adds. Back then, production slumped by 25 percent.

For the current year, the VDMA expects real production growth of 4 percent. This is "only the beginning of a catch-up phase from a low level in view of the high decline last year," says Wiechers.