German engineering exports saw a strong start to the year as supply chain woes ease, the VDMA industry body said on Monday.

Machinery exports rose 13.8% in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2023 year on year, the VDMA said, citing preliminary data from the federal statistics office. In price-adjusted terms, the increase was 4.4%.

"Machinery and plant manufacturers can finally supply many of their customers and are reducing their high order backlogs," VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers said in a statement. (Writing by Rachel More; editing by Matthias Williams)