Intralogistics economy in the pandemic year 2020
04.03.2021
German intralogistics manufacturers recorded an estimated 10 % drop in production volume in 2020. In total, production fell to 22 billion €. In comparison, the value in 2019 was 24.5 billion €. "The pandemic has of course also had an impact on the intralogistics sector, even if it has varied widely in the individual product areas. In addition to a drop in orders in some divisions, we were mainly confronted with short-time work, material bottlenecks and interrupted supply chains. The situation has been stabilising again since the autumn," says Gordon Riske, Chairman of the Executive Board of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association and CEO of KION GROUP AG. "E-commerce was a strong positive driver in 2020. The additional online business, for example with everyday goods, has led to increased demand for highly automated intralogistics solutions," says Riske. For the current year, the trade association expects growth of 8 % and thus a production volume of 23.8 billion €.
International markets
The export business of German intralogistics manufacturers is also posting a minus for 2020. "We estimate that the export volume will decline by about 15 % overall. Especially in the most important core markets there were sharp declines," says Sascha Schmel, Managing Director of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.
This applies, for example, to the EU-27 domestic market, which recorded almost 20 % fewer exports up to and including November 2020 than in the same period of the previous year. "In recent years, the local manufacturers have benefited greatly from the demand within the EU. France, the Netherlands and Italy in particular were the main customers here. These export relationships declined significantly in 2020," says Schmel. Exports to the USA, previously the most important single buyer of German intralogistics solutions, also fell by an estimated 23 % during this period. Exports to China decreased by around 10 %.
Looking beyond the horizon
The crisis year 2020 had a significant impact on the entire mechanical and plant engineering sector: according to preliminary calculations, production fell by 12.1 % in real terms. This was the worst result since the financial crisis of 2009. For the current year, the VDMA expects real production growth of 4 %, which in view of the high decline last year is only the beginning of a catch-up phase from a low level.
