German industry: Sustained willingness to invest

According to the latest ifo Investment Survey, German manufacturers plan to increase their investments in new machinery and buildings by almost 11% in nominal terms in 2019. For the year 2018, the survey participants reported an increase of just under 7%. This means investment activity in the manufacturing industry in 2018 remained below the original plan. Expansion activities and replacement procurement accounted for the majority of investments in the two years under consideration: 2018 and 2019. This year, almost one third of capital expenditure on property, plant, and equipment is attributable to these two investment motives. Accounting for a share of around one ninth of investment expenditure, streamlining measures play only a subordinate role compared to the 1990s.