German industry is lacking orders. “Hardly any industry is spared,” says Ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe.
More and more German companies are suffering from a lack of orders. In industry, 39.5 percent of companies complained about this in April, as the Munich Ifo Institute announced.
That was 2.6 points more than in January. In the service sector, the share rose slightly to 32.4 percent. “The lack of orders is hindering economic development in Germany,” warns Ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe. “Hardly any industry is spared.”
In the industrial sector, textile manufacturers were particularly hard hit, with 61.5 percent complaining about a lack of orders. Paper manufacturers followed with 53.9 percent. Overall, the energy-intensive sectors are particularly affected, according to the Ifo. In metal production and processing it is 50.6 percent and in the chemical industry 46.6 percent. The manufacturers of beverages and animal feed, on the other hand, got off relatively lightly and the automotive industry, with a share of 29.2 percent, is also significantly better than average.
The range is also large in the service sector. Personnel agencies are hit hardest, with 63.9 percent complaining about a lack of orders. “The generally weak economic development is reducing the demand for temporary workers,” said Wohlrabe. Lawyers, tax advisors and auditors, on the other hand, have problems much less often.
Source: Stern
