The German metal and the electrical industry

The German metal and electrical industry generates a turnover of more than a trillion euros a year (= €1,000,000,000,000) in approx. 23,000 establishments with a total of over 3.6 million employees. The companies generate most of this turnover by manufacturing capital goods. Two thirds of products and services are exported. The M+E industry is largely made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. Over two thirds of the companies employ fewer than 100 staff; only two percent have a workforce of over 1000. The largest M+E sectors are mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, electrical engineering, metal-working and the precision mechanics/optics/clocks sector. The number of permanent jobs rose by about 250,000 during the recent cyclical upswing between 2006 and 2008. As a result, the number of people working in the M+E industry is now again higher than it was 10 years ago.

Success factors
The decisive factor determining the strong position of M+E companies in the world market is their high level of productivity, continuous innovations and wellqualified staff. The M+E industry is characterized by networks of suppliers and producers of different sizes from different sectors – and sometimes located in different countries. German M+E companies have holdings in over 4000 companies abroad employing approx. 1.3 million employees. Spreading the value chain worldwide secures competitive advantages which also benefit the German locations.

The German metal and electrical industry	2008
Turnover	945 billion EURO
Exports export quota	595 billion EURO 52,9 %
major exports	automobiles, machinery, electrical and electronical equipment
Employees	3.5 million - 55 per cent of the German industrial workforce
Personnel expenditure	151 billion EURO
Number of plants	22,660