BERLIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The German electronics industry has experienced another month of strong growth in July, a report published on Tuesday by the Central Association of the Electrical Engineering and Electronic Industries (ZVEI) shows.
According to the report, new orders were up by 3.5 percent in July compared to the same period last year. "This latest growth (in orders) was the highest of the past six months", ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann noted.
Orders from the Eurozone single currency area rose by 5.6 percent, while those from non-Eurozone countries increased by 4.5 percent. As a consequence, the German electronics industry has witnessed a cumulative annual increase in new orders of 1.5 percent between January and July 2018. A decline in domestic orders (minus 3.0 percent) was hereby compensated by strong international demand (plus 5.2 percent).
Industry production was also higher by an annual rate of 4.7 percent in July. The cumulative growth rate for production was measured at 3.6 percent for the first seven months of 2018.
Gross revenue in the German electronics industry rose by 6.4 percent to a total of 16.3 billion euros (18.9 billion U.S. dollars) in July. Foreign and domestic monthly sales were estimated at 8.6 billion euros (plus 7.5 percent) and 7.7 billion euros (plus 5.3) respectively.
The ZVEI report further highlighted that business confidence in the industry had risen again in August 2018 following a decline in July. The improvement in sentiment reflected a more positive future outlook, with 24 percent of firms expecting higher demand and 61 percent forecasting that currently favorable commercial conditions will hold steady.
Based in Frankfurt, ZVEI represents companies with combined annual revenue of 191 billion euros and around 868,000 workers in Germany in 2017. The 1,600 registered firms have an additional headcount of 706,000 international staff, making the electronics industry an especially globalized sector of the German economy.
