The results of the study, published by the Ifo economic Institute, showed that German manufacturers hardly have to struggle with material shortages anymore.
“The supply of raw materials and intermediate products has recently seen significant improvement. The situation is now almost back to how it was before the coronavirus crisis,” says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo, adding that the wage dispute at Deutsche Bahn has been settled and the logistics sector has adapted to the situation in the Red Sea.
The report showed that in March, the share of companies reporting material shortages fell to 10.2% from 14.6% in February. The Ifo Institute stated that manufacturing experienced the peak of supply problems in December 2021, when 81.9% of companies reported difficulties.
As for industries, computer manufacturers have been hit the hardest by material shortages, with 18.2% reporting problems. They were closely followed by electrical equipment manufacturers (17.5%), manufacturers of machinery and equipment (14.4%), and the chemical industry (14.5%). In the remaining industries, the figure is well below 10% in some cases.
According to official data released last week, industrial production increased by 2.1% in February, accelerating compared to January (+1.3%, revised from 1%) and recording the sharpest increase since January 2023. Economists had expected growth of 0.3%. In annual terms, industrial production fell by 4.9% after a 5.3% decline in January. Meanwhile, over the last three months (through February), industrial production decreased by 0.5% compared to the previous three-month period.