Wholesaling (Germany):
Expansive order and staffing plans

In wholesaling the judgments of the present business situation were again less positive than in the previous month. This was the result of unfavourable developments in the industrial B2B sector, whereas in consumer goods there was an improvement. More confidence was again expressed in the six-month outlook, but the optimism in the industrial B2B sector has faded. Despite excess inventories, firms intend to place more orders in the coming months than was the case 12 months ago. The increase in prices is likely to continue, especially in the food and beverage sector. In eastern German wholesaling the business situation weakened although positive assessments still clearly hold the balance. With regard to the business outlook a slight scepticism prevails for the first time. Since excess inventories have only been partly reduced, firms plan to be more reserved in their order activity. They still see opportunities to achieve higher prices, however.