German industry is facing an existential crisis

Berlin The start of the Ukraine war in late February was a short-term shock to the broader economy. However, it is now becoming clear that the consequences in certain sectors are likely to last for a long time. Business expectations in the German economy are deteriorating massively.

This is the result of the evaluation of the economic survey of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce among 25,000 companies, which is available to the Handelsblatt. A third of the companies expect business to be worse in the next twelve months than it already is. Only 19 percent expect an improvement.

“So far, we have only experienced such a slump in industry during the financial crisis and the first lockdown in 2020,” says Martin Wansleben, General Manager of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

The shock of the Ukraine war is well on the way to developing into a structural crisis that will burden the German economy not for months but for years. And the economic doldrums could take on a particularly ominous characteristic.