Almost 40 Percent of German Companies Complain About Lack of Orders
Almost 40 percent of German companies complained about a lack of orders in April, and despite a slight improvement, the situation remains unsatisfactory, the German IFO Institute for Economic Research in Munich announced today.
In April, 37.3 percent of companies reported a shortage of orders, a decrease from 40.2 percent in January, but the share of affected companies is still high.
"Despite the slight improvement, this is still not a sustainable recovery," commented IFO research director Klaus Wohlrabe.
According to him, demand remains subdued in many areas, and the current high uncertainty in the market could further complicate the situation.
In the industrial sector, the share of companies affected by a lack of orders dropped significantly from 44.8 percent in January to 36.8 percent in April, and the situation in the automotive and chemical industries is somewhat better than at the beginning of the year.
According to the report, in German mechanical engineering the share remains high at around 43 percent. The lack of orders continues to be widespread in both wholesale and retail trade. In wholesale, just over 61 percent, and in retail, about 50 percent of companies reported a shortage of orders.
In the service sector, the share of companies complaining about a lack of orders slightly increased from 31.2 to 32.2 percent, with the problem being particularly pronounced in the hotel industry and among IT service providers.
