Manufacturing (east):
Confidence weaker
ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, München, 2003
in: ifo Konjunkturperspektiven, 2003, 30, Nr. 01, 19-22
In eastern Germany, both the current business situation and the outlook were evaluated more unfavourably, following an improvement in the previous month. Although firms were no longer quite so dissatisfied with their order reserves, inventory pressure has increased somewhat. The production will probably be reduced slightly in the coming months, based on the production plans. Whereas in the west the capacity utilisation rate declined in the course of the last three months (83.4%), it remained to a large extent unchanged in the east (80.7%, including food and beverages). Only the enterprises in western Germany see room for upward adjustments of prices; in eastern Germany weakening prices are expected. According to the survey responses, staff reduction will continue unchanged in both parts of Germany.