GDP (Million $) – 4.429.838 (2023, IMF)
GDP Per Capita ($) – 52.824
Growth Rate (%) – -0,5
Population – 83.861.000
Total Area (km2) – 357.340
Capital – Berlin
Germany is one of the largest countries in Europe, with a surface area of 357 thousand km2 and a population of nearly 83 million. In terms of population, the country ranks second among European countries after the Russian Federation and first among EU countries. With its membership in the European Union and NATO, it has also assumed the role of an effective bridge between central and eastern European countries.
Germany, which is the largest partner in Turkey's exports and imports with its high purchasing power, is the most developed industrial country in the world after the USA and Japan. The country is the largest and most important market in the European Union with a population exceeding 83 million.
The heart of the German economy is the manufacturing industry and related service sectors. While the most important manufacturing sectors are industrial machinery, automotive and chemical industry. In recent years the telecommunications sector has become one of the leading areas of activity.
On the other hand, while the steel manufacturing sector in the Ruhr region has shrunk significantly, agriculture has gradually lost its importance. As in other industrialized countries, the importance of the services sector has gradually increased in Germany.
The manufacturing industry and related service sectors constitute the backbone of Germany, which is strategically located in one of the world's most important production and trade regions. While the most important manufacturing sectors are industrial machinery, automotive and chemical industries, service sectors have come to the fore in Germany, as in other developed countries, in recent years. Especially sectors such as telecommunications, software and informatics, food and construction stand out in this sense.
INDUSTRY
Industry constitutes the heart and core sector of the German economy and is the most important sector that produces many innovations and innovations thanks to the strong network established with various sectors. Small and medium-sized industrial companies, often run by families, are one of the important features of the “German business model”. When the most important known industrial sectors are listed, automotive, machinery, electrical/electronics and chemistry come first. The automotive industry, which is one of the most important carriers of the "Made in Germany" brand on a global level, is the most important component of the German industry.
As of 2022, 23.4% of Germany's gross national product comes from the industrial sector. German companies represent 10 percent of European manufacturing companies and account for 31% of total turnover. 94% of Germany's total goods exports consist of industrial products. The largest companies in the industrial sector in terms of turnover are Volkswagen AG, Mercedes, BMW, Uniper SE, Robert Bosch GmbH, E.ON SE, Siemens AG, BASF SE, Thyssenkrupp AG.
German industry is divided into various economic centres. For example, while the Munich and Stuttgart metropolitan areas are mainly centers of high technology and automotive sectors, the Rhein-Neckar region is the chemical and IT sectors, Cologne is the media sector, Hamburg is the port and transportation sector, and East Germany is the high technology centers.
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
The automotive industry is one of the most important sectors of the German economy with the added value it creates, foreign exchange income it provides and high employment. According to Brand Finance Global 500, Germany has surpassed Japan in terms of brand value and ranked third after the USA and China. In this ranking, the contribution of automotive brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and Audi on the list is quite high. The Mercedes-Benz brand, ranked 16th, will be the most valuable brand not only in Germany but also in Europe in 2022 with 60.8 billion US dollars, while Porsche has become the strongest German brand in the Finance Global 500 ranking. On the other hand, it is considered that the brands in question are behind their pre-pandemic levels due to low demand and decreasing sales caused by problems in supply chains.
In 2022, Germany exported motor vehicles and parts worth 244 billion euros, an increase of 16%. While the sector ranks first in the country's exports with a share of 15.5%, it ranks 4th in imports with a share of 8.8% (132 billion Euros). The sector, which has a foreign trade surplus of 112 billion euros, has the highest export to the United States with 33.3 billion euros.has carried out. This country is followed by the People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, respectively. Turkey ranks 15th in Germany's exports of motor vehicles and parts with 4.7 billion euros.
In Germany's imports of motor vehicles and parts, the Czech Republic ranks first with 12.4 billion euros, and Spain, France, the United States and Poland are the other countries in the top five, respectively.
The electric vehicle market is expected to surpass traditional vehicles in the near term, in the sector that has a turnover of 411 billion Euros and exports approximately 75% of its production. The German government aims to increase electric vehicle production to 15 million by 2030 and become a leader in e-mobility solutions. Similarly, German automotive and sub-industry manufacturers are expected to invest over 220 billion Euros between 2022 and 2026, especially in electric mobility and digitalization areas. In this context, the automotive sector is considered to be the most innovative sector of the German industry.
AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Germany has the third-largest aerospace and defense market in Europe, with 2022 revenues at EUR 39 billion or USD 41.1 billion, following the UK at GBP 82 billion or USD 101.4 billion (including land defense systems) and France at EUR 62.7 billion or USD 66 billion. Some three quarters or USD 30 billion of the German production are exported. France received an eighth of the exports with USD 3.7 billion. To a large degree, these exports are attributable to Airbus intra-company trade as part of their geographically dispersed production model with several major sites in Germany and France.
Regarding the overall development, BDLI president Dr. Schöllhorn pointed out that “aerospace is among the few industries in which Germany and Europe currently are world leaders and primed for the future. We intend to further strengthen this innovative capacity with the help of technological quantum leaps such as the planned ZEROe aircraft and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), but also the European Service Module (ESM) as a core element of the Artemis mission, which is taking mankind to the moon again after many years—this time to stay.” The 2022 revenues were distributed as follows: civil aviation, EUR 28 billion or USD 29.5 billion vs. EUR 22 billion in 2021; military aviation, EUR 8.4 billion or USD 8.8 billion vs. EUR 7 billion in 2021; space systems, EUR 2.6 billion or USD 2.7 billion vs. EUR 2.4 billion in 2021.
In the aviation industry, one in six commercial aircraft worldwide is built and delivered in Germany, and the products of the sub-industry, characterized by medium-sized companies, are included in every aircraft delivered worldwide. The sector sees the European Union's Green Deal Strategy as an opportunity and puts "the development and construction of the climate-neutral aircraft of the future in Europe and specifically in Germany" as the main goal of the coming period. In this context, the majority of research funds in the sector are directed to research such as the production of climate-neutral aircraft, integrated flight systems, high-performance lightweight structures, digitalization and sustainable aviation fuels, as well as the development of a hydrogen infrastructure.
Important international fairs and organizations in the field of aviation industry are held in Germany. AIRTEC - International Trade Fair and Congress for the Aerospace Industry in Munich, CCH - International Trade Fair for the Aviation Industry in Hamburg, Aircraft Interiors Expo - International Trade Fair for Aircraft Interior Equipment in Hamburg, The ILA Berlin Air Show - International Aviation Fair in Berlin and the AACII - Aerospace Congress and Fair in Nuremberg are among the leading organizations in this field.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Advanced Manufacturing (AM) is the convergence of information and communications technologies with manufacturing processes to drive real-time control of energy, productivity, costs and information across factories and companies. In 2011, it was identified as one of the highest-priority manufacturing technology areas by the Federal German government.
Over the next several years, Advanced Manufacturing is expected to provide excellent export potential for industries such as machine tools/general industrial equipment, robotics, information and communication technology, process control instrumentation as well as electronics industry production equipment, additive manufacturing, advanced materials, and industrial IT.
By 2025, 84 percent of German manufacturers plan to invest EUR 10 billion (USD 10.52 billion) annually into smart manufacturing technologies, including the automotive industry at approx. 1.2 billion per year, machinery & equipment and plant engineering and construction at 1.5 billion, electronics and microelectronics industry at approximately 817 million per year, and the metal working industry at 424 million per year. Today, 75 percent of the German companies in most industries have implemented digital solutions, and 15 million employees are directly and indirectly involved in advanced manufacturing industries in Germany.
Robotics and Automation – Germany is the fifth largest robot market in the world with about 26,000 installations of robots utilized in various industries, accounting for 5 percent of the global robot installations in 2022. The Robotics + Automation Association represents three industry segments with their 370 members: Robotics, machine vision and integrated assembly solutions. In 2022 the combined estimated annual turnover of these industry segments hit EUR 14.4 billion (USD 15.55 billion).
Installations of industrial robots in selected German industries in 2021 were: motor vehicles with 6,206 installations, metal and machinery (3376), automotive parts (2,740), plastics and chemical (1,490), electrical and electronics (1,154), pharma/cosmetics (485), food (424), logistics, medical and other industries. In 2022 the automotive installations went up to 4,400 installations, and the chemicals and plastics industry increased to 2,200 installations. The fastest growing segment is the electronic industry, which surpassed the automotive industry with new installations in the last two years.
Machine Tool and Precision Tool – The ongoing demand in almost all user industries worldwide has already driven production output of the German machine tool industry to more than EUR 14.1 billion in 2022 (USD 15.22 billion), however the order intake in the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 3 % compared to the same period in 2022. The order backlog compensates for this short decrease in all machine tool segments. Imports from the U.S. have been about EUR 118.7 million (USD 128.2 million) for machines and equipment in 2022. Capacity utilization stood at about 88 percent in 2022 according to the German machine tool association. German domestic consumption was about EUR 7.6 billion (USD 8.2 billion). Based on the domestic consumption Germany has an import quota of 47 %, and an export quota of 75%.
Germany’s best prospect import segments within the machine tool industry are laser, 3D printers; machine centers; lathes; drilling machines; grinding, honing and lapping machines; gear cutting machines; sawing, cutting-off machines; bending, folding, and straightening machines (incl. presses).
The major industries consuming machine tools and precision tools are automotive industry and component suppliers, mechanical engineering, metal and metal products, aerospace, electrical industry, e-mobility, and the defense industry.
STEEL INDUSTRY
Germany is the largest steel producer in the EU. In 2022, around 37 million tons of raw steel were produced. The sales revenues of the steel companies increased by €13.8 billion in 2022 compared to the previous year and was thus at the level before the corona pandemic.
Currently, 70 percent of the raw steel is produced via the blast furnace converter route. 30 percent generated by the electric steel process. In order to make a decisive contribution to a climate-neutral economy in 2050, the steel industry is already working on new processes, especially based on hydrogen, in order to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
High energy prices and subdued demand continue to burden crude steel production in Germany. According to current data, around 3.1 million tons of raw steel were produced in January 2024. This corresponds to an increase of about 5 percent compared to the same month last year.
Although the steel industry in Germany today produces the material steel under the best conditions worldwide, the path to climate neutrality is not possible without technology changes, especially in primary steel production. For example, the CO2 emissions of the coal-based blast furnace route in the past decades have been able to continuously today approx. 1.7 tons of CO2 per ton of raw steel can be reduced, but in the meantime this process reaches its technical optimum. However, in order to produce climate-neutral pig iron from the oxidic iron ores, hydrogen can also be used as a reducing agent instead of carbon. In addition to pure iron, this produces water vapor instead of CO2.
Source: www.stahl-online.de
MACHINERY INDUSTRY
Germany has a long history of machinery development, dating back to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. The country has been a major player in the global machinery industry for over a century, and its innovations have had a significant impact on many areas of manufacturing. During the late 19th century, Germany’s engineering and machinery industries began to flourish, with the development of new techniques and technologies that enabled mass production on a large scale. Companies such as Krupp, Siemens, and Bosch emerged as leaders in the field, developing a wide range of industrial machinery, from steam engines and locomotives to electrical equipment and machine tools.
Germany is now renowned for its highly developed equipment industry, which includes everything from cutting-edge robotics and 3D printing technology to precise machine tools and automation systems. The nation’s engineering and machinery businesses continue to spur invention and influence the course of global production.
Germany has a bright future for machinery because it continues to set the bar for industrial ingenuity and technical development. With an emphasis on Industry 4.0 and smart factories, German equipment makers are well situated to profit from the ongoing digital transformation of production.
Industry 4.0 refers to the integration of digital technologies into the manufacturing process, enabling real-time data collection and analysis, automation, and the use of advanced analytics to optimize operations. German machinery manufacturers are at the forefront of this trend, developing cutting-edge technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced robotics.
The German Screw Association
The German Screw Association eV (DSV) represents the interests of the German screw, nut and rivet manufacturers who are full members of the association. Associated member companies of the DSV are disc manufacturers, who play a special role, as well as suppliers, service providers and machine and screw device manufacturers that are important for the screw industry. The associated member companies cover the entire process chain in the production of mechanical fasteners. Furthermore, a number of university institutes are associated members of the DSV.
The purpose of the German Screw Association is to promote the common economic, technical and scientific interests of its member companies.
This happens through
· Advice, information and exchange of experiences
· Public relation
· Joint work in specialist groups and working groups
· Technical training and further education of staff of the member companies and the user industry
· Representation of the interests of members towards state authorities, institutions, as well as decision-makers from politics, business, science and other industrial and professional associations
· Standards management
· Assistance with legal opinions
· Support for the development of sustainable processes / FRED
The German Screw Association has had a very strong technical focus since it was founded in 1977 and has constantly expanded this focus to this day.
The technical support of our member companies and their customers are also important measures to maintain the competitiveness of the German screw and nut industry.
With regard to the data from the Federal Statistical Office and Eurostat, it should be mentioned that some code numbers and corresponding assignments to individual products have changed since 2017. Some numbers were added to the production data for Prodcom, while blind rivet nuts with a separate customs tariff number were newly introduced in the customs tariff numbers CN 7318 for export and import, which meant that other products with the same designation had to be given different customs tariff numbers. Since January 2017, both changes have led to some uncertainties in the reports and probably also to one or the other incorrect report.
Source: https://www.schraubenverband.de/
