Construction industry fears massive economic downturn

Berlin The construction industry is threatened with stagnation and a collapse in orders. While the industry was still a pillar of the German economy during the Corona pandemic, the enormous increase in energy, material and construction prices and rising interest rates are now causing new projects, especially in residential construction, to be postponed or cancelled.

Figures published on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office show that real, i.e. price-adjusted, incoming orders fell by 3.6 percent in September 2022 compared to the previous month. Compared to the same month last year, there was even a minus of 22.6 percent. Before the building ministers’ conference of the federal states with Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) this Friday in Berlin, the construction industry, building trade, trade and building materials industry are therefore urging the state to act.

A position paper by the associations, which is available to the Handelsblatt, says: “In order to avoid a massive economic downturn and to keep the urgently needed specialists in the industry, the emerging decline in new construction activity must be cushioned as best as possible.”