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Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany - Market Research Report (2015-2030)

Ashkan Salim Ashkan Salim Frankfurt, Germany Last Updated: August 2025 WZ C28.41DE

Revenue

€17.3bn

2025

€17.3bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

€XXX.Xm

Employees

70,409

Businesses

445

Wages

€X.Xbn

Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany industry analysis

In the past five years, the German machine tool industry for metalworking has been characterised by considerable market turbulence. After a pandemic-related slump in 2020 with particularly low sales, the industry saw a temporary recovery in 2022 and 2023, driven by export markets and catch-up effects. Nevertheless, average sales growth between 2020 and 2025 was only 0.2% per year. The continued weakness of key customer sectors such as the automotive and metal industries, declining production figures and a reluctance to invest in Germany had a negative impact. In 2025, sales are expected to fall by around 3.5% compared to the previous year, meaning that the industry will probably generate sales of €17.3 billion. This development underlines the extent to which demand continues to suffer from structural and economic factors.

The industry is currently facing a number of challenges. The order situation remains tense, especially for SMEs, which are suffering more from the restrictive investment dynamics, rising costs and increasing regulation. Planned blanket US tariffs on EU products from August 2025 will further exacerbate the situation and put a massive strain on export prospects. At the same time, new European regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act are increasing the requirements for cyber security and product conformity. As a strategic countermeasure, many companies are increasingly focusing on higher-margin services, digitalisation projects and technological differentiation. Significantly higher profit margins can be achieved primarily through the sale of complete solutions for entire plants. The industry is in the midst of profound structural change with high adjustment costs - but those who act early can also derive new competitive opportunities from this.
The German machine tool industry for metalworking has benefited from a new tax investment incentive measure since July 2025. Companies can depreciate 30% of the acquisition costs of movable assets in the first year using the declining balance method. This reduces the effective procurement costs for capital goods such as CNC centres or laser cutting systems and stimulates demand. At the same time, demand is increasingly shifting to high-growth sectors such as aviation, medical technology and renewable energies. Technological differentiation, modularity and digitalisation are gaining in importance, as is the use of cobots for automation. Despite increasing competition, China remains a key sales market. Industry turnover is expected to increase by an average of 1% per year to 18.2 billion euros by 2030.

Trends and Insights

  • The German machine tool industry is coming under severe pressure due to the ongoing industrial slump and is seeing a decline in orders. Small and medium-sized companies in the sector in particular are suffering from a drop in orders, a high level of bureaucracy and rising costs.
  • The tariffs on steel and aluminium products make machine tools for metalworking more expensive and reduce their export opportunities to the USA. Since many machine tools contain steel and aluminium parts, the tariffs increase production costs and make German exports less attractive to US customers, leading to a decline in demand and market share.
  • Most machine tool manufacturers are located in the Süd region. Many companies from the automotive industry are based in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and are important customers for machine tool manufacturers.
  • The industry players are in strong internal competition with each other. Machine tool manufacturers compete primarily on price and product quality.
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Industry Statistics and Trends

Market size and recent performance (2015-2030)

Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 0.2 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated €17.3bn in 2025.

Trends and Insights

In view of the recession in Germany, the industry is suffering from weak domestic demand for machine tools

  • The metalworking machine tool manufacturing industry in Germany has suffered in recent years from the continued weakness of the most important domestic customer industries. According to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), car production in Germany fell from around 4.7 million units in 2019 to around 4.1 million vehicles in 2024 - a decline of around 12%. At the same time, other key industrial sectors also reported sharp declines. According to Gesamtmetall, based on data from the Federal Statistical Office, production in the metal and electrical industry (M+E) fell by 6.6% in 2024 compared to the previous year and is therefore experiencing the longest downturn since reunification. The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) also reports a real decline in production in mechanical engineering in Germany of around 8% in 2024.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany
Revenue (2015-2030)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2025-2030)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

The German government wants to motivate companies to invest more again with tax breaks

  • On 4 June 2025, as part of the so-called investment booster, the German government decided to introduce a declining balance depreciation rate of 30% for movable assets purchased between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027. In the year of acquisition, companies can claim 30% of the investment amount for tax purposes, and in subsequent years 30% of the residual book value. The aim is to encourage companies to make new investments through fast-acting tax relief and thus provide impetus for industrial modernisation and economic growth.

Biggest companies in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany

Company
Market Share (%)
2025
Revenue (€m)
2025
Trumpf SE & Co. KG
2,230.5
Schuler AG
808.6
Emag GmbH & Co. KG
433.0

To view the market share and analysis for all 5 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.

Products & Services Segmentation

Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Cutting machine tools, Forming machine tools and Parts and accessories. Cutting machine tools is the largest segment of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany.

Trends and Insights

The share of turnover generated by metal-cutting machine tools increased slightly over the past five years

  • This product segment includes automatic lathes, milling machines, grinding machines and honing and lapping machines.
  • More insights available in the full report

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

This sector includes the manufacture of machine tools for drilling, turning, milling, bending and pressing metals. The industry also includes the manufacture of machine tools that use laser beams, ultrasonic waves, plasma arcs and magnetic pulses to process all materials. This sector does not include the manufacture of hand-held tools with motorised drives.

What's included in this industry?

Products and services covered in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany include Cutting machine tools, Forming machine tools, Parts and accessories and Processing centres, transfer lines and laser cutting machines.

Companies

Companies covered in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany include Trumpf SE & Co. KG, Schuler AG and Emag GmbH & Co. KG.

Purchase this report to view all 5 major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

Related terms covered in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany include asean states, system business and anti-dumping duties.

Industry Code

WZ 2008

WZ 28.41 - Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing in Germany

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

The German machine tool industry is coming under severe pressure due to the ongoing industrial slump and is seeing a decline in orders. Small and medium-sized companies in th...

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Employees, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Businesses, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Profit, including historical (2015-2025)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
  • How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

The tariffs on steel and aluminium products make machine tools for metalworking more expensive and reduce their export opportunities to the USA. Since many machine tools cont...

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets
  • International Trade

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2025
  • Product innovation level
  • Total imports, level and trend
  • Total exports, level and trend
  • Trade Balance

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2025
  • Major market segmentation in 2025
  • International trade, including imports by country and exports by country

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
  • Recent trends in import and export volumes, country of origin or destination, and expected future trends

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

Most machine tool manufacturers are located in the Süd region. Many companies from the automotive industry are based in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and are important custom...

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each region
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2025

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each region in 2025
  • Number and share of revenue each region accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of wages each region accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of employees in each region in 2025

Detailed analysis

  • Geographic spread of the industry across Europe, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

The industry players are in strong internal competition with each other. Machine tool manufacturers compete primarily on price and product quality.

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2020-2025
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

Detailed analysis

  • Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
  • Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
  • Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
  • Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
  • Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
  • Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
  • Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
  • Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
  • Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.

Companies

Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.

Analyst insights

Trumpf SE & Co. KG has the highest market share in the machine tool manufacturing industry. The mechanical engineering company produces machine tools, laser machines and powe...

In this chapter

  • Market Share Concentration
  • Companies
  • Company Spotlights

Charts

  • Industry market share by company in 2021 through 2025
  • Major companies in the industry, including market share, revenue, profit and profit margin in 2025
  • Overview of Trumpf SE & Co. KG's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2019 through 2025
  • Overview of Schuler AG's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2019 through 2025
  • Overview of Emag GmbH & Co. KG's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2019 through 2025
  • Overview of revenue, market share and profit margin trend for 2 additional companies

Detailed analysis

  • Description and key data for Trumpf SE & Co. KG, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for Schuler AG, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for Emag GmbH & Co. KG, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description, key data and performance trends for 2 additional companies

External Environment

Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

Analyst insights

The production volume serves as an indicator of the manufacturing industry's demand for machine tools. Machine tools are used by many industrial sectors in production, which ...

In this chapter

  • External Drivers
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key metrics

  • Regulation & policy level and trend
  • Assistance level and trend

Charts

  • Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2015-2030) 
  • Assistance historical data and forecast (2015-2030) 

Detailed analysis

  • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
  • Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
  • Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.

Financial Benchmarks

View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

Analyst insights

The profit margins of industry players have been under pressure for years due to intense international competition, particularly from Asia. However, manufacturers can signifi...

In this chapter

  • Cost Structure
  • Financial Ratios
  • Key Ratios

Key metrics

  • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
  • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
  • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
  • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

Charts

  • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Investment vs. share of economy

Data tables

  • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Employee (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Establishment (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Average Wage (2015-2030)
  • Wages/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Establishments per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • IVA/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Imports/Demand (2015-2030)
  • Exports/Revenue (2015-2030)

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2015-2030)
  • IVA (2015-2030)
  • Establishments (2015-2030)
  • Enterprises (2015-2030)
  • Employment (2015-2030)
  • Exports (2015-2030)
  • Imports (2015-2030)
  • Wages (2015-2030)

Top Questions Answered

Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

What is the market size of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany in 2025?

The market size of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany is €17.3bn in 2025.

How many businesses are there in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany in 2025?

There are 445 businesses in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.6 % between 2020 and 2025.

How may import tariffs affect the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany?

The Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany is likely to be impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a moderate share of industry revenue.

How may export tariffs affect the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany?

The Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany is likely to be significantly impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.

Has the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany has been growing at a CAGR of 0.2 % between 2020 and 2025.

What is the forecast growth of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany is expected to grow.

What are the biggest companies in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany?

The biggest companies operating in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany are Trumpf SE & Co. KG, Schuler AG and Emag GmbH & Co. KG

What does the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany include?

Cutting machine tools and Forming machine tools are part of the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany.

Which companies have the highest market share in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany?

The company holding the most market share in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany is Trumpf SE & Co. KG.

How competitive is the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany?

The level of competition is high and increasing in the Metal Forming Machinery Manufacturing industry in Germany.

Methodology

How are IBISWorld reports created?

IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.

Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

Key data sources in Germany include:

  • German Federal Statistics Office (Destatis)
  • European Statistics Office (Eurostat)
  • United Nations Comtrade

Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

These sources include:

  • Industry and trade associations
  • Industry federations or regulators
  • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.

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