The German locomotive is slowing down. After a largely positive 2023, which saw national production reach 15 billion euros, the German agricultural machinery industry has entered a phase of order contraction this year, affecting both the domestic market and exports indiscriminately. This was revealed in the report presented by VDMA, the division that groups agricultural machinery manufacturers within the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association. The report indicates that the outlook for 2024 is bleak, both due to order books being the emptiest they have been in three years and considering the basic statistical indicators.
Although the cost situation for agricultural production factors has improved and overall inflation has decreased, the persistently high interest rates and the already significantly deteriorated economic situation of agricultural businesses due to falling production prices are the two key elements expected to negatively affect the German and, more broadly, European agricultural machinery market for at least the entire current year.
Title: The brake of Germany
Translation with ChatGPT
