According to the current autumn survey of member companies, the VDMA Air Handling Technology Association expects a 7 percent drop in sales for the industry for the whole of 2020. For the machinery and plant engineering sector, the VDMA anticipates a 14 percent drop in production in 2020.
According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, production in the air handling technology sector fell by 4 percent in the first quarter of the year and by 14 percent in the second quarter (nominal, excluding air and gas liquefaction). This represents an overall decline of 9 percent in the first half of 2020.
Order intake in the air handling technology also fell by 9 percent in the period January to September 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year. The decline in foreign business was minus 13 percent. Domestic business lost only 3 percent compared with the prior-year level.
The VDMA is forecasting a 4 percent increase in production for the entire mechanical and plant engineering sector in 2021. Currently, a slight increase of 2 percent is expected for the air handling technology sector in 2021.
In some cases, declines in orders for long-term projects, such as in plant construction, may not be reflected in sales for another one or two years. Overall, the situation in the field of building services engineering is stable. By contrast, the trend in industry is much weaker. This primarily affects the automotive and steel industry segments. In contrast, demand from the food, pharmaceutical and wood (furniture) industries is only slightly down overall.
