The improvement in demand for production equipment came to an abrupt halt this summer. For several months, demand for production machinery had been growing, albeit slowly but steadily. After the sharp fall recorded in August, the index contracted again by 2% in September. The moving average remains stable at 123 points. This stability reflects current investment forecasts by manufacturing companies (+1 % in 2015 - Insee October survey).
For suppliers of production equipment and materials, business is picking up again, growing by 3 % over the third quarter compared with the same quarter in 2014. The components remain the same: a domestic market that is not very dynamic, albeit a little more responsive, and export sales on the rise. Demand for machines seems to have stabilized since the summer. It remains buoyant for industrial robots, and industrial vision and measurement equipment. Forecasts for the coming months are rather optimistic, particularly for export markets.
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