While the Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries) have come through the worst of last year’s economic downturn, the volume of orders on hand remains low despite a double-digit growth rate (+22.6%). Although rallying demand is giving rise to expectations of export gains this year, capacity utilization of 76.6% is still considerably below the long-term average of 86.1%. The euro’s tumble in value is hitting the MEM industries particularly hard.