Economy: The weak phase in German industry continues

Economy: The weak phase in German industry continues

Delivery bottlenecks and material shortages continue to burden German industry. In September she will get the next damper. Experts hope that things will get better soon.

The weak phase in German industry surprisingly continued in September. The total production fell compared to the previous month by 1.1 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office announced.

Production in German industrial companies has fallen in five months since April and was only able to recover temporarily in July. The lack of materials continues to burden the industry, which is slowing production despite strong demand.

Because of the headwinds in the past few months, production is now also falling year-on-year. As the Federal Office also announced, production in September was one percent lower than in September 2020. Industrialized countries have been suffering from material shortages for months, and production data are disappointing again and again. Missing chips are particularly troublesome for the automotive industry, but also for tech companies like Apple.

The Federal Ministry of Economics referred to the consequences of the supply bottlenecks for raw materials and intermediate products, which would have been reflected “on a broader front”. “Until the shortages are permanently resolved, the outlook for the industrial economy will remain gloomy, although demand remains at a very high level.” The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) declared: “The production figures in industry remain weak.” That lowers expectations of a rapid economic recovery.

“The hope of a countermovement to the collapse of production in August has not been fulfilled,” analyzed analyst Ralph Solveen from Commerzbank. He assumes that industry will hardly make any contribution to economic growth in the fourth quarter either. After all, the demand for industrial products is still strong, so that at least a stabilization can be expected in the coming months.

Fund provider Union Investment was cautiously confident. Chief economist Jörg Zeuner commented that there are the first cautious signs of relaxation among the car manufacturers who are particularly affected. You have to be patient until the trend reverses. “Once Christmas and the Chinese New Year are behind us, the delivery bottlenecks should ease.”

Source From: Stern

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