economic situation
Chemical industry expects only a slight increase in production in 2025
Expensive energy and the weak economy are slowing down Germany’s third largest industrial sector. After the past years of crisis, 2025 should be somewhat better.
After a mixed year, the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry is not very optimistic about 2025. Production is expected to grow slightly by 0.5 percent in the coming year and sales will stagnate, according to the Association of the Chemical Industry (VCI) in Frankfurt. There is still a lack of orders, so the production facilities are underutilized.
According to a representative VCI survey, the mood among companies is mixed: While a good quarter of companies expect an increase in earnings in 2025, another 26 percent expect earnings to remain the same and 46 percent expect a decline.
Weak German economy burdened
The chemical industry suffers particularly from the high energy costs in Germany compared to other countries. In view of the weak economy, many industrial companies are also reducing their production, which is having an impact on demand for chemical products.
In the current year, the VCI expects a decline in sales of two percent to 221 billion euros; business was particularly bad in the home market. Production in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries grew by two percent, but remained well below pre-crisis levels.
“The only bright spot is that the rapid decline of the last two years has not continued,” said VCI President Markus Steilemann. He called for an “economic liberation” with the early federal election on February 23rd.
dpa
Source: Stern
