In the first quarter of 2013, sales by the companies in Switzerland's me-chanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries) fell by 3.9 percent year on year, while new orders decreased by 0.8%. The reversal in trend that had been hoped for at the beginning of the year has thus failed to materialize. Nevertheless, the companies in the MEM industries are still cautiously optimistic in their business growth assessments for the coming twelve months.