In comparison, the value in 2019 was still at 24.5 billion euros. "The pandemic has of course also had an impact on the intralogistics industry, albeit very differently in the individual product areas. In addition to a decline in orders in some sectors, we were primarily confronted with short-time working, material bottlenecks and interrupted supply chains. The situation has stabilized again since the fall," 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 particularly 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 a production volume of 23.8 billion euros.

International markets
The export business of German intralogistics manufacturers also recorded a decline in 2020. "We estimate that the export volume is down by around 15 percent overall. There were sharp declines in the most important core markets in particular," 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 last year. "Local manufacturers have benefited greatly from demand within the EU in recent years. 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 fell by around 10 percent.

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 is forecasting real production growth of 4%, which is only the beginning of a catch-up phase from a low level in view of the sharp decline last year.