China will overtake Japan, Germany and the US to become the world’s leading producer of industrial machinery in 2011, predicts IMS Research. Within two years, it will have moved from fourth place, fuelled both by exports and increasing domestic demand.

China has not escaped the global recession and the rate at which its production of machinery is expanding has dipped sharply in 2009. However, its preceding strength means that despite the downturn, China’s machinery industry will still grow in 2009. IMS’s latest figures suggest that machinery production in China will be 3.9% higher in 2009 than it was in 2008.
 
“One reason for China’s superior performance compared with its closest rivals is that the likes of Germany and Japan rely so heavily on exporting their products,” explains IMS analyst, Andrew Robertson. “Since the credit crunch has caused a huge drop in exports, these countries have suffered particularly. Although China’s machinery industry does export vast amounts, it can also rely on its increasing domestic demand to prop up the industry in these difficult times.”