BERLIN, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Germany's mechanical engineering industry expects production to fall by 2 percent in 2020, the association representing some 3,200 members (VDMA) announced on Monday.
While production still increased by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2019, the second quarter brought a 2.9 percent decline compared to the previous year, according to the VDMA.
"A sustainable change for the better is not foreseeable in the near future," warned VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers.
Weakness in the global economy, trade disputes and structural changes were weighing on the mechanical engineering industry in Germany and would "unsettle investors, who are therefore reluctant to invest," VDMA added.
According to the VDMA, the investment climate in Germany -- especially in the automotive industry, one of the main customers of the mechanical engineering industry -- has "suffered noticeably."
Only a "good order backlog" would soften the decline. As of June 2019, orders of Germany's mechanical engineering industry as a whole were "sufficient" for slightly more than the next eight months, the association said.
Wiechers said that "despite all the risks, the opportunities should not get out of sight." Unless there were "massive disruptions," the global industry would be "unlikely to sink further" and there was still a chance to resolve some of the political conflicts.
