In crisis-ridden 2009, total exports of German plastics and rubber machinery fell by 33.9% year-on-year, according to the latest statistics released by the German machinery manufacturers association VDMA (www.kug.vdma.org). Despite this massive drop, the industry association is optimistic about orders from Asia, which increased from 29% in 2008 to 36.5% in 2009 although export volume to the region fell by 17.2%.

“With growth of 19.6%, exports to central and south Asia were the only real bright spot on the entire export horizon,” said VDMA chairman Ulrich Reifenhäuser, although he added that “what was gained in Asia was lost in the 27 countries of the EU.” While deliveries to South East Asia dropped only 3.6% year-on-year, those to the Middle East fell by 21.4% and East Asian orders even dropped by 26.2%. Among the EU-27, sales levels were down 44% year-on-year, whereas in the rest of Europe they decreased by 41.5%.

The downward trend also made itself felt elsewhere. In central America orders were down 20.6% while exports to South America fell by 39.5%. North American sales figures dropped by 38.7%.

All in all, German plastics and rubber machinery exports amounted to EUR 2.6 bn in 2009, compared to a record-high EUR 4 bn in the previous year. As a result, the regional export emphases have shifted. As pointed out by Reifenhäuser, Asia’s increases were offset by a drop in European sales. Overall, EU-27 sales declined from 35% in 2008 to almost 30% in 2009, the rest of Europe dropped to 12.2% (13.8%). North American sales now account for 10.7% (11.6%) of German plastics and rubber machinery exports, while at 2.6% total in 2009, Africa was down a mere 0.1%. The only growth was registered in Latin America, which increased its regional share from 7.1% in 2008 to 7.2%.