GERMANY – The German Engineering Federation, VDMA, reported that in 2017 German woodworking machinery manufacturers produced equipment worth € 3.2 billion.

Exports, worth €2.4 billion and up 12.8% from the previous year, were responsible for 74 percent of total woodworking machinery manufactured.

The main destination countries of German woodworking machinery were the USA and China.

The US achieved a record demand of € 350 million while shipments to China increased to € 302 million. Followed by France with € 141 million, Poland with € 128 million and Austria with € 99 million.

While France grew by 42 per cent compared to 2016, there was a decline of 17 per cent in Poland and 4 per cent in Austria.

With an increase of ten percent, exports to Russia have turned back into positive territory after two years of drought and reached a value of € 95 million.

Exports to Romania reached € 86 million, Italy acquired machines worth € 80 million and Switzerland ordered machinery for € 70 million.

By region, Germany's woodworking exports in 2017 were 16 percent to North America, 21 percent to Asia and 57 percent within Europe.