GERMAN ECONOMY
Manufacturing industry continues to decline / Chemical industry bucking the trend
November 2023 marked the sixth month in succession that output from Germany’s manufacturing industry fell compared with the previous month, reports the federal statistical office Destatis (Wiesbaden; www.destatis.de). Seasonally and calendar-adjusted, the decline amounted to 0.7%. A comparison with the corresponding figure for the previous year sounds even more negative – when compared with November 2022, the fall was a hefty 4.8%, reports Destatis.
![]() Production in the chemical industry has grown recently (Photo: Pexels/Marek Piwnicki) |
The plight is illustrated by the figures. Industrial production – in other words the manufacturing segment without energy and construction – fell in November 2023 compared with the previous month by 0.5%. The production of capital goods was down 0.7%, production of intermediate goods was down 0.5%, and production of consumer goods was down 0.1%. Production in the construction industry dropped by 2.9%.
In the energy-intensive branches of industry – this includes the chemical industry and large sections of the plastics sector – production (seasonally and calendar-adjusted) rose according to Destatis in November 2023 compared with the previous month by 3.1%. However, in an annual comparison with November 2022, production fell by 4%.
11.01.2024 Plasteurope.com [254363-0]
Published on 11.01.2024