Manufacturing (Germany):
Improved confidence

In German manufacturing the favourable business situation judgments still dominated clearly. The rise in demand and production flattened somewhat but order reserves were higher than normal levels and some delivery bottlenecks were reported. In the course of the third quarter capacity utilisation increased somewhat (86.5%), and also the range of the order backlogs expanded (2.8 production months). The enterprises appraised the six-month outlook with enhanced confidence, but in the consumer goods field optimism weakened again. The firms expect positive impulses from future export business, especially since their competitiveness on foreign markets has improved in recent months, both within and also outside of the EU. According to the responses, prices may be raised in coming months, particularly for intermediate products and durable consumer goods. A decrease in employee numbers was only planned in isolated cases. The enterprises in manufacturing in eastern Germany evaluated their current business situation just as positively as in the previous month. Capacity utilisation in September at 85.2% was much stronger than in June, and order stocks corresponded to a production length of 2.4 months (June: 2.2 months). Firms are just as confident regarding their future and there were more frequent reports of stepping up production in the coming months.