VDMA expects ‘stable 2026 revenues’ for German machinery makers

Frankfurt, Germany – Germany’s rubber & plastics machinery industry expects ‘stable revenues’ in 2026 followed by “modest growth” in 2027, amid a challenging global environment.

In a 10 June review of 2025 performance, industry association VDMA said the global growth in demand for polymers is not reflected in the machinery and equipment sector.

While demand for polymers continues to rise, VDMA said “manufacturers of production equipment are coming under increasing pressure.”

“Rising costs, declining margins, and intensifying global competition – especially from suppliers in China – are fundamentally changing the rules of the industry,” it noted.

According to VDMA, the start to 2026 was “difficult” with first quarter order intake down 5% year-on-year and revenues down 3% compared to the same period in 2025.

However, the association said “a stabilisation” is expected over the course of the year.

In particular, demand from Asia and the Americas is likely to provide new momentum and partly offset the weak start.

The association, therefore, said it expected a sideways movement for 2026, with revenues likely to remain flat.

Overall, VDMA said “there are signs of a continued positive trend in the Americas and Asia, which could lead to modest growth for the plastics and rubber machinery sector from 2027 onwards.”

Despite challenges such as tariffs, VDMA said the US remained “a stable anchor market, with solid demand from packaging and medical technology.”

China, supported by a growing middle class, remains one of the key centres of global polymer consumption, with positive effects on demand for machinery.

VDMA noted the importance of digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and automation as key drivers of growth in the near-term.

“Connectivity and data flows across the entire value chain are creating new business models and added value,” it said.

VDMA also presented an annual review of the industry’s performance in 2025, which saw production decline, with broad-based weakness across core equipment and a sharp drop in exports.

In 2025, total production of rubber & plastics machinery and related equipment fell by 5.6% year-on-year to €11.4 billion in 2025, down from €12.1 billion in 2024, industry association VDMA reported 10 June.

Compared with 2023, output was 7.4% lower than the €12.35 billion recorded that year.

The decline was driven primarily by core machinery, which dropped by 8.2% to €8.1 billion. That compares with €8.8 billion reported for both 2024 and 2023.

Moulds and dies also posted a sharp decline, with production falling 9.7% year-on-year to €1.7 billion, while output for resin and parts handling equipment rose strongly by 14.5 % to €1.1 billion.

In terms of trade, VDMA figures showed weakening external demand, with overall exports down 8.1% year-on-year to €5.46 billion.

China remained the largest export market, with shipments rising 11.7% to €1.24 billion and accounting for 22.8 % of total exports.

The US held second place despite a 7.6% decline, with exports of €898 million and a 16.4% share.

India experienced a sharp drop, with exports falling 25.8 % to €270 million, while Mexico saw an even steeper decline of 30.7 % to €174 million.

France also recorded a significant fall of 32.1 % to €139 million.

By contrast, several European markets showed resilience, as exports to Italy increased 26.5% to €241 million and to Poland by 19.5% to €223 million.

Turkey posted a 7.0 % increase in German machinery imports to €166 million, and Brazil climbed 19.3% to €112 million, moving up to tenth place in the rankings.

Spain remained broadly stable, edging up 1.5 % to €126 million.

Machinery imports to Germany, meanwhile fell 2.2% year-on-year to €1.4 billion.

The overall trade balance weakened markedly, falling by 10% year-on-year to €4.05 billion in 2025, down from €4.49 billion in 2024 and €4.78 billion in 2023.

According to VDMA, the German domestic market contracted by 6.3% year-on-year to €4.1 billion, reversing the growth seen in 2024. Compared with 2023, however, the market remained marginally higher by 0.4 %.

Employment in the polymer machinery sector continued to decline, with the workforce falling to 28,500 in 2025 from 30,000 in 2024 and 30,800 in 2023.

This represents a 5.0 % drop year-on-year and a 7.5 % decline over two years.