Shortage of Building Materials in Germany Considerably Worse
German construction businesses are suffering more from supply bottlenecks. This is a finding of surveys the ifo Institute conducted in March. In building construction, 37.2 percent of participants reported disruptions, up from 23.5 percent in February. The situation in civil engineering also worsened, with 31.5 percent of businesses reporting problems from supply bottlenecks. In the previous month, the figure was 17.5 percent. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine has created a high level of uncertainty with regard to supply chains,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo.
“Material prices for many commodities are fluctuating much more as a result of the war. In addition, many companies source intermediate products from Russia or Ukraine. This makes construction planning more difficult,” Wohlrabe adds. As a result, companies intend to continue raising prices. Price planning in the construction industry has risen from 43.8 to 48.9 points – a new record. Many companies are passing the higher purchase prices on to their customers.
