BERLIN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The order intake in the German mechanical engineering industry declined "significantly" by 17 percent in August, the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) announced on Friday.
Further dampening the order books, domestic orders fell by 12 percent while international orders of German mechanical engineering products even decreased by 19 percent, according to VDMA.
"As feared, the previous months were only a breather with single-digit minus rates," explained VDMA economic expert Olaf Wortmann, adding that other economic indicators would also show that German mechanical engineering companies "continue to be pessimistic regarding the economic and political risks."
Exports of the German mechanical engineering industry between January and July increased by 1 percent year-on-year, VDMA announced. America was the biggest market for Germany and grew by 8 percent, followed by exports to China which had grown by 2 percent.
German exports to the European Union showed a mixed picture. Exports to France grew by 6 percent, while exports to Britain decreased by 4 percent and exports to Italy even decreased by 7 percent.
According Wortmann, a short period of growing exports to Britain in the past had been caused by companies building up stocks in order to be prepared for a no-deal Brexit. Enditem
