German Screw & Nut Industry Import and Production Turned Weak in 2012

According to the German Fasteners Association, in 2012 there were a total of 45 manufacturing companies and 8,400 employees in the industry, almost the the same number as in 2011. Fifty percent of the companies are located in the south-western West falen between river Ruhr and Sieg, and the others are scattered nationwide. Most of them are medium and small businesses. Companies with less than 100 employees take around 2/3 of the industry, and only 10% of the industry have more than 500 employees. Overall, 65% of buyers in the industry come from the automobile sector, some of which even fully supply this sector. Other critical buyers are scattered in home appliances, engineering, furniture, machinery, device, construction and stell sector. Only a small portion of products are sold through merchants.

In 2012, the industry's production increased 4.4% to 760 thousand tons, and its production value decreased 2.4% to 2.916 billion euros over 2011. The industry's 2012 export outperforms 2011 by a 4.4% rise (620.1 thousand tons) of export volume (including re-exported goods) and a 9.2% surge (3.298 billion euros) of export value (mostly supported by export of high-price goods). Most of the buyers are From the EU.