Following the recession, machinery production has returned to growth in most countries, but will not return to 2007 or 2008 levels before 2013 at the earliest in some nations – most of them in Europe. The prediction is made in the IMS Research Machinery Production Yearbook which forecasts that machinery production will soar by more than 11% in the Asia-Pacific region this year, while expanding by less than 3% in Europe and less than 4% in the Americas.

The predictions (depicted above) suggest that the Asia-Pacific region will be the only one to surpass its pre-recession production levels by 2013. This recovery will be fuelled largely by China, but other fast-growing economies, such as India and South Korea, will also bounce back. 
 
Recovery in Europe will take “quite a bit longer” warns IMS. Uncertainties over sovereign debt, and the sluggish growth of European economies following severe cuts in public spending, are key reasons for the predicted slow rate of recovery of machine production in the region.
 
In the US, the picture seems a bit brighter. Because America came out of the recession slightly earlier than Europe, and because its recovery is looking slightly smoother, IMS predicts that US machinery production will probably be close to pre-recession levels by 2013.