MEM industries see first rays of hope in ongoing dry spell
Published: Thursday, Feb 29th 2024, 10:20
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The Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM) experienced a difficult year in 2023, but there are the first glimmers of hope on the horizon. The industry association Swissmem hopes that the downturn will bottom out in a few months.
The industry's turnover fell by 0.8% in 2023, exports by 2.6% and incoming orders by a significant 8.4%, as Swissmem announced at its annual press conference on Thursday. The good order backlog from the previous year would have prevented a more significant slump in sales.
This has apparently not (yet) had a negative impact on companies in the industry: according to the association, production capacity utilization at the end of the year was 87.1%, slightly above the long-term average of 86.2%. And the number of employees in the tech industry rose by 1.7% to 326,500.
Slump in orders alleviated
Further business development is difficult to predict, the association emphasized. However, the first rays of hope are emerging: the decline in incoming orders has recently slowed down significantly in the fourth quarter at minus 3.6 percent.
In addition, the global purchasing managers' indices are showing a slightly positive trend at a low level. The difficult currency situation has also recently eased somewhat. If this trend continues, the downturn could bottom out in mid-2024.
But this requires something else: market access. After all, almost 80 percent of products from the tech industry are exported. In the communiqué, association president Martin Hirzel advocates the swift conclusion of a free trade agreement with India. Progress in relations with the EU is also "essential".
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