Swiss technology sector's H1 sales up 2.5%, but recovery remains fragile

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智通财经2026/08/24 09:26

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According to data from the Swiss Technology Industry Association, sales in the Swiss technology sector are expected to grow by about 2.5% year-on-year in real terms during the first half of 2026. However, this growth is almost entirely driven by large enterprises, while sales among small and medium-sized enterprises fell by roughly 3.8% during the same period, indicating an uneven recovery.
Orders increased by about 12% year-on-year, but it should be noted that the base for the same period last year was relatively low, resulting in a base effect. Capacity utilization in the second quarter was about 81%, below the long-term average of approximately 86%, meaning the industry is not operating at full capacity.
In terms of exports, the total for the first half of the year was approximately 34.5 billion Swiss francs, marking a nearly 2% year-on-year increase. The EU market contributed the main incremental growth (about 3.4%), while the Asian market expanded moderately by approximately 0.9%. Exports to the United States declined by around 5%. Export of measuring instruments and mechanical equipment fell by roughly 3% and 2% respectively, while railway and aircraft exports increased by about 19% due to a few large orders.
Over the past year, nearly a quarter of companies recorded negative EBIT profit margins, and close to 30% of firms were only profitable enough to cover capital costs and R&D investments. The association's head pointed out that this is affecting the resource reserves available for future investment.
Since the end of July, the United States has imposed a roughly 12.5% tariff increase on Swiss technology products, 2.5 percentage points higher than that applied to EU products. Survey results show that over one-third of companies have already been forced to offer discounts to American clients to maintain orders, and if the tariff gap widens to five percentage points, nearly half the companies' US business will be seriously affected.
The association is calling on parliament to approve the free trade agreement with Mercosur as soon as possible and to advance the upgraded version of the free trade agreement with China, emphasizing that both agreements are strategically significant for Switzerland’s technology industry.

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Swiss technology sector's H1 sales up 2.5%, but recovery remains fragile

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