Wholesaling (Germany):
Industrial B2B falls plunges

The surveyed wholesalers reported a more unfavourable business situation and also expect a weaker business development in the next six months. They are thus planning to order fewer new goods, especially since more have assessed their current inventory levels as too high. Both in consumer goods wholesaling and in industrial B2B the business climate has chilled, the development in the consumer goods area being mainly attributable to the food and beverage sector. The remaining consumer goods wholesalers reported a more favourable business situation. In industrial B2B the business climate has clearly worsened, the business situation here now being predominately unsatisfactory. Turnover in comparison to that of the previous year is assessed as worse, and the surveyed participants plan to reduce their orders noticeably. With regard to the business outlook their scepticism has also increased. Consumer goods and industrial B2B wholesaling have in common that price increases have slowed considerably. In both areas the surveyed participants anticipate hardly any more price hikes. It is noteworthy that especially the wholesalers in food and beverages - a goods group that experienced considerable price increases in recent months - now even expect some price markdowns.