Tech industry: slight recovery in the first quarter
(10.06.2026) The machinery, electrical equipment and metals industry, together with related technology sectors, continued to show positive development in Switzerland. Compared with the same period last year, sales increased by 3.4% in the first quarter of 2026, according to Swissmem.
However, this increase conceals significant disparities, as it was driven almost exclusively by large companies. Sales among SMEs declined by 1.8%.
In the first quarter of 2026, order intake rose by 10.1% compared with the same period of the previous year. Exports of Swiss tech products also increased slightly (+1.1%), reaching CHF 17 billion. Capacity utilization remained below the long-term average (85.6%), at 81.6%. Employment stabilized at 324,200 persons, representing an increase of 0.4% compared with the first quarter of 2025.
From a geographical perspective, the European Union (EU) was the main driver of export growth (+3.9%). By contrast, Asia (-4.5%) and the United States (-4.2%) recorded significant declines.
Looking at product categories, orders for rail, road and aerospace vehicles increased significantly (+28.4%), while exports of precision instruments (-4.4%) and mechanical machinery (-3.9%) declined.
The industry association Swissmem remains cautious, noting that the recovery is encouraging but not yet firmly established. Growth in the sector is concentrated in a limited number of companies and subsectors, primarily industrial electrical engineering, energy solutions and the space industry. According to Swissmem, risks such as an escalation of tensions in the Middle East, rising energy costs, new US tariffs or protectionist measures by the EU could negatively affect this development.