Construction (east):
Business expectations deteriorate
ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, München, 2003
in: ifo Konjunkturperspektiven, 2003, 30, Nr. 12, 21-24
In east Germany the unsatisfactory business conditions remained unchanged, and were assessed more unfavourable in civil engineering than in structural engineering. At 69% equipment was utilised at the same rate as in the previous month but was four percentage points higher than at the same time last year. On the other hand, the range of order backlogs declined to 1.9 months due to a clear decrease in building construction (November: 2.1 months). The expectations were marked by stronger pessimism especially in structural engineering. According to the survey responses, construction prices in the coming months will continue to come under pressure in east Germany; in the west price increases are likely. A decline in the number of construction employees will continue at nearly the same pace in both east and west Germany.