MNI BRIEF: German Mar Machine Orders Up, But Bottlenecks: VDMA

Mechanical and plant engineering companies saw a sharp rise in orders through March, up by 29% y/y, Germany's VDMA said Thursday. The pandemic left a first marks in the order books in March last year, so the basis for comparison is correspondingly low, VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers noted, but said companies are now benefiting from the fact that incoming orders are clearly accelerating,"

However, he warned that production hindrances have increased recently due to bottlenecks in important supplies. "This is a spanner in the works of an otherwise pleasing recovery," Wiechers warned in an article on the group's website.

Foreign orders surged by 34%, with EZ orders up 43% and orders from non-euro countries growing 30%. Alongside that, domestic orders saw a substantial gain as well in March, rising by 20%. In Q1 2021 orders were up 9% compared to Q1 2020, which was entirely led by foreign orders which rose by 15%, while domestic orders were unchanged.