Wholesaling (west):
Restrictive order plans

The improvement of the business climate in western German wholesaling is both due to the fewer unfavourable judgements of the current business situation as well as the less pessimistic appraisals of the business outlook. This affected both trade between producers and industrial customers and the consumer goods field (including food and beverages). Sales, however, were below the previous-year results, and excess inventories remained. Correspondingly, the firms plan to order less in future.