ifo Institute: German Industry Expecting Increase in Production
German industry’s production expectations for the coming months have improved somewhat. They rose to plus 20.8 points in September from plus 15.6 points in August. This is a finding from the most recent ifo Business Survey. “But the outlook varies greatly between different industries,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo.
Carmakers are optimistic about the future, with their indicator rising from 48 points in August to 53 points in September. The prospects for manufacturers of leather, leather products, and footwear have also improved markedly. Their indicator is positive for the first time since March 2016, rising from minus 57 points in August to 11 points in September. Printing companies, too, are expecting production to increase. Their indicator rose to 14 points from minus 17 points in August.
In mechanical engineering, however, expectations remain cautious. The production indicator rose only slightly in September, from 2 to 3 points. The chemical industry remains optimistic and expects to be able to further increase its production. Here, the indicator rose from 19 to 25 points in September. For manufacturers of metal products the indicator rose from 11 to 17 points, while for metal production and processing it rose from 2 to 6 points.
Although the situation has improved for clothing manufacturers, they still do not expect the production to expand. Their indicator rose to minus 2 points from minus 16 points in August.
While beverage producers had briefly been optimistic about being able to ramp production back up more strongly, they have now stepped back from these expectations. Their indicator fell to minus 10 points from minus 1 point in August.
The German Statistical Office will announce its August figures for industrial production on Wednesday, October 7.
