Already in 2023, an average decrease of 23% was recorded in new orders. As for 2024, the Woodworking Machinery Association, which is part of the association of German machine and plant manufacturers VDMA, forecasts a decrease in production of at least 10%. The situation varies among the individual companies, though. Some manufacturers are still busy with older order backlogs, while others are introducing short-time work as a reaction to the lack of orders.
In the first quarter, incoming orders were more or less the level recorded last year and, according to the VDMA, there are no signs of further decreases. “We expect that demand will pick up again across the board next year,” Markus Hüllmann, Chairman of the VDMA Woodworking Machinery Association, commented at this year’s general meeting in Munich.
