Production at Germany’s steel and metal processing companies fell by 2.9% in the third quarter compared to Q2, according to their association, WSM.
This is the second decline in a row, meaning that the industry is in a recession, WSM states. The previous year’s figures were not reached for the third time in succession, Kallanish learns from the association. In the nine-month period from January through September, production fell by 2.6% year-on-year.
The outlook for Q4 is determined by incoming orders, which were 3.8% below the previous year’s level after nine months. Orders in Q3 were 9.5% lower than in the preceding quarter and companies in the sector are correspondingly pessimistic about their business development.
The share of entrepreneurs who describe their business situation as “good” in WSM’s November poll fell to below 20%. “And business expectations for the next six months are developing even more dramatically,” the federation notes: 49% expect the business situation to deteriorate – 4 percentage points more than in October. Only 6% remain optimistic about their business expectations.
According to Christian Vietmeyer, WSM’s managing director, the current figures are “cause for great concern”, especially as the forecast for the year as a whole had to be revised downwards again to a 3% drop due to the continuing weakness in demand.
Together with 12 other trade associations in the manufacturing industries, WSM has launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the significance of small and medium-sized companies in Germany.
Under the slogan “Wir. Formen. Fortschritt.” (We. Shape. Progress.), the industries address the broader public and, especially, the government. They aim to improve the image of their role in the industrial transformation towards climate-friendly production. In the campaign, they emphasise that they are not part of the problem, but part of the solution, as makers of products and components for renewable energies.
Christian Koehl Germany
