Shortage of Materials Lessens Slightly in German Manufacturing
The shortage of materials in German manufacturing has lessened, but only slightly. In October, 70.4 percent of companies complained about bottlenecks and problems procuring intermediate products and raw materials, a drop of 7 percentage points from September. This is the finding of an ifo Institute survey. “It would be wrong to describe this as an easing,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. “Especially because companies expect the shortages to persist well into the new year.”
According to the ifo survey, manufacturing companies expect these problems to continue for another eight months on average. In the chemical industry, fully ten months of difficulties are expected. The automotive industry reports similar values. The shortest period, 5.5 months, is expected in the food industry.
Manufacturers of electrical equipment are particularly hard hit: 90 percent of them report problems procuring materials. The shortage in the automotive industry is of a similar magnitude. Among manufacturers of machinery and equipment, 81 percent are affected. For food manufacturers, the share is 51 percent. This has risen by 6 percentage points since the previous month.
In most other sectors, the situation has eased somewhat. Due to the ongoing supply problems, many companies are still planning to raise prices. “We’re seeing price increases ripple throughout the economy,” Wohlrabe says.
