Wholesaling: Business Climate Improves Slightly

In wholesaling the business climate improved slightly in December. Wholesalers were somewhat more satisfied with their current business situation. Their outlook for the next six months was also slightly more favourable, but a narrow majority of wholesalers remained pessimistic. The Bundesverband Großhandel, Außenhandel, Dienstleistungen (German Federal Association of Wholesaling, Foreign Traders and Services) looks to 2019 with subdued expectations and cites investment hurdles and a lack of skilled workers and trainees as obstacles to economic development. However, considerably fewer respondents were positive about sales developments compared to last year. According to official figures, the growth rates in the nominal sales trend declined towards the end of the third quarter of 2018. Sales prices were raised by many wholesalers in December, albeit not quite as frequently as in previous months. The Federal Statistical Office's wholesale price index rose by 3.5% year-on-year in November. In the context of the current survey, inventory assessments rose minimally, pushing this figure slightly higher than the average value typical for the industry. According to the survey results, ordering activity probably expanded somewhat less frequently after the beginning of the year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the development of employment in wholesaling in 2018 was positive until the end of the third quarter. Slightly fewer survey participants plan to further increase their headcount on balance in the months ahead; but employment still remains well above the long-term average.