Germany's ZVEI electronics association said today it had raised its growth forecast for overall industry sales this year to four per cent, albeit solely due to increasing demand from abroad.
ZVEI, which groups businesses in a variety of sectors from consumer electronics and semiconductors to defence technology, said it expected sector sales to rise to around €160 billion.
It had previously forecast an increase this year of two percent, after sales stagnated at €154.9 billion in 2003.
"The business of German electrical engineering and electronics abroad is running better than expected at the start of the year. At home, reluctance to invest, weak consumption and empty public coffers are determining the development of the second biggest industrial sector in Germany," ZVEI said.
ZVEI said foreign orders had grown by 10 per cent in the first five months of the year.
However, the association said that, given weak domestic demand, no rapid turnaround was expected in employment in the industry, although it might stabilise at around 800,000.