VDW sees demand driving 2010 German industry recovery

Germany's machine tool industry is gaining renewed confidence. "Though the ongoing year is once again going to be a very difficult one, we nonetheless expect a significant upturn in business during the first half of the year," explained Martin Kapp, chairman of the VDW (the German Machine Tool Builders' Association). Speaking at the organisation's annual press conference, Kapp supported his assessment by pointing out that orders have improved month by month since September. The order level has risen by more than 60% since July/August. There will be a time lag before this shows up in sales. Therefore, this trend will not suffice to stimulate growth in production output. The VDW expects German machine tool production to fall by 10% in 2010. It believes that German manufacturers can profit in 2011 from an increase in international investment.Adidas