Wholesaling: Business Climate Indicator Rises Markedly

The business climate indicator rose markedly in wholesaling in November to just below its historical all-time high. In line with the positive trend in balance figures seen this summer, wholesalers were far more satisfied with their current business situation. They also expect business to continue to improve over the next six months. The business survey results painted a very positive picture for wholesaling in general and confirmed the favourable developments in official statistics. According to these statistics, turnover was higher in the first half of the year than in 2016 (nominal: +5.6%, real: +2.3%), after stagnating in the previous years. Survey participants implemented sales price increases recently and the majority reported higher turnover than during the same period last year. Although stocks are not yet exhausted, they are slightly lower than in October; and wholesalers plan to expand their orders accordingly. At the same time, sales prices will continue to climb in the months ahead. Official statistics show that wholesalers recruited 1.2% more staff in August than during the same period in 2016, while our business survey results suggest that they will continue to hire additional staff in the future.