Material Shortages Continue to Ease in German Manufacturing

German manufacturing is facing fewer and fewer problems with material shortages. In July, 29.5% of the companies surveyed reported shortages, down from 31.9% in June. “The situation has been easing steadily for more than a year,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo, “although bottlenecks still exist for some electronic components.”

The automotive industry continues to have the most problems, with around 60% reporting supply bottlenecks. A substantial easing of the situation is still a long way off. Just under half the manufacturers of data processing equipment still reported problems in procuring intermediate products. Among manufacturers of machinery and equipment, this share fell below the 50% mark for the first time in two years.

In the majority of industries, however, the proportion of companies reporting problems with sourcing intermediate products is now back below 10%. These include the chemical industry (7.6%), basic metals manufacturing (4.5%), and furniture manufacturers (5.6%). Completely without worry are manufacturers of leather products.