Manufacturing (east):
Business climate unchanged
ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, München, 2003
in: ifo Konjunkturperspektiven, 2003, 30, Nr. 10, 19-22
In east Germany the current situation improved slightly and now stands at just satisfactory, but the cautious optimism that arose in the previous month has dissipated. Impulses from future export business was not evident. More firms plan to limit production although the range of order reserves expanded from 2.1 to 2.6 production months. In both parts of Germany, capacity utilisation increased again in the course of the third quarter after having fallen in the previous survey due to the strike in the metal industry. In west Germany utilisation fell short of the comparable previous year level of 83.1% but in east Germany it was surpassed at 81.9% (including food and beverages) . According to the responses of both survey panels, the pressure on sale prices and staff reductions should continue in the coming months.