Wholesaling: Optimism Revives

The business climate for wholesaling improved again in August. While the current business situation remained almost as good as last month, more companies expected their business to develop positively over the next six months. Over 40% of the wholesalers surveyed reported an improvement in their business versus just 10% who expect it to deteriorate. The majority of wholesalers were once again more satisfied with turnover compared to the same period of the previous year. In May nominal turnover fell by 3.7% after a 6.9% increase in April. Although inventory overhangs dipped slightly, ordering plans were somewhat less expansive this month. A larger number of wholesalers, by contrast, expect to recruit additional staff. The number of persons employed in wholesaling grew less dynamically between January and May at 1.7% versus 2.7% during the same period in 2017. The index for wholesaling prices was 3.5% higher than last month. A third of the wholesalers surveyed reported implementing price increases in July and August. They plan to continue to raise prices over the next three months too.