Rising energy prices and the sluggish global economy are causing problems for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. There is no recovery, but one goal is still to be achieved.
In the struggling German chemical industry, the hoped-for business recovery in the summer failed to materialize. The recovery lost momentum in the second quarter, reported the industry association VCI in Frankfurt. The domestic industry has reduced production in the past three months and held back on chemical orders. The global economy has also not picked up as hoped, and demand from abroad has fallen. Many chemical plants are still not operating profitably due to a lack of orders.
“The mood in our industry has cooled noticeably again,” said VCI General Manager Wolfgang Große Entrup. “There are therefore no signs of a sustained recovery in demand.” In the first half of the year, the association was still cautiously optimistic and spoke of signs of a slight easing.
Production growth expected
The association nevertheless stuck to its forecasts for the year as a whole. According to this, sales are expected to increase by 1.5 percent and production by 3.5 percent.
In the second quarter, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry was able to increase production slightly by 0.8 percent compared to the previous quarter. This was 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier. Sales shrank by 0.6 percent year-on-year. Employment remained at a high level of almost 480,000 people thanks to growth in the pharmaceutical industry.
The structural problems in Germany are still unresolved, criticized the VCI. Four out of ten industrial companies are considering further reducing production or even moving abroad, the association warned.
Source: Stern
