Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), Frankfurt am Main. (Source: VDW) Germany - In the fourth quarter of 2016, order bookings in the German machine tool industry fell by 4% compared to the preceding year’s equivalent period. Both exports and domestic orders showed a roughly equal decline. For 2016 as a whole, the rise came to 7%, with orders from abroad up by 10%, while domestic orders ended up at plus/minus zero. “Although 2016’s fourth quarter performed less strongly than the preceding quarters, the German machine tool industry ended 2016 with yet another order record, thus confirming the upbeat forecast of the previous year,” comments Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the sectoral organisation VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) in Frankfurt am Main.