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Germany has always been a major supplier of printing machinery and technology and its products have been recognised as being of the utmost quality. It is, after all, the home of Gutenberg. And Germany is the host of the the biggest show in print: the drupa tradeshow in Düsseldorf. But now Germany is also recognised as the world’s largest exporter overall, pulling ahead of the United States for the first time in 11 years.Statistics released for August show German exports of $65billion exceeded those of the United States by more than seven per cent in dollar terms. Japan ranked third.
Last year, Germany was the market leader in machinery exports with a 19 per cent global market share ahead of the United States with 14.9 per cent followed by Japan with 12.2 per cent.
According to the Financial Times Deutschland and figures from the OECD and International Monetary Fund, German export levels have been above United States levels since April.
According to some economic analysts, Germany’s comeback can also be attributed to the control of costs since the mid-1990s. Exchange rate movements are also recognised as a factor.
The upward trend in value of German exports for the first half of this year has benefited by the strength of the euro against the US currency. Sales volumes however may now be threatened by high exchange rates which make German imports more expensive for buyers outside the Euro zone.
