Manufacturing (Germany):
Renewed worsening in order stocks

The firms in German manufacturing again assessed their present business situation clearly more sceptically than in January. They were more dissatisfied with their order stocks and appraised their inventories once more as too large. The survey participants still expect foreign demand to contract. The strong decline in export expectations in recent months shows that German industry has been greatly affected by the fall in international demand. Especially the sectors that had profited from exports - motor vehicle production as well as electrical engineering, precision mechanics and optics - report massive declines in foreign demand. The chemical industry has fared better here; the firms expect only a moderate decline in exports. The business climate deteriorated in all major manufacturing sectors: intermediate goods, capital goods and the consumer goods. For intermediate goods and capital goods manufacturers, the worsening of the business climate followed the same pattern: the firms assessed the present business situation more unfavourably, but the business expectations for the coming half year are not as pessimistic as in the previous month. The companies in the consumer goods field appraised both their current business situation and their business outlook more unfavourably.