Production declined in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin At the beginning of the year, German companies increased their production more than they had in two and a half years. Industry, construction and energy suppliers together produced 3.5 percent more in January than in the previous month, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday. This is the highest increase since June 2020. Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had expected an increase of 1.4 percent.
In December there had been a significant decline, but at 2.4 percent it was less severe than the minus 3.1 percent initially stated.
“This is a real sign of life from the industry,” said LBBW economist Jens-Oliver Niklasch. “It is also particularly gratifying that production in the energy-intensive sectors was able to increase significantly.” The Federal Ministry of Economics is hoping for a continuation of this upward trend. “The last surveys were characterized by more favorable business prospects with decreasing material bottlenecks,” it said with a view to the improved business climate in the German economy. “In combination with the still well-filled order books, the economic slowdown at the beginning of the year should be mild.”
Industry alone produced 1.9 percent more in January than in the previous month. The main contributors to this were the manufacturers of electronic equipment (up 7.1 percent) and chemical products (up 9.8 percent). On the other hand, the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, which are important for German industry, developed very negatively with minus 5.2 and minus 12.9 percent.
The construction industry reported a strong increase of 12.6 percent in January. “The milder weather in January is likely to have had a positive effect on the construction industry,” the ministry explained the strong increase. Energy suppliers increased their generation by 0.4 percent.
More: German industry reports an unexpected increase in orders at the start of the year