The international supply chains are still disrupted.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin According to the Ifo Institute, the shortage of materials in German industry worsened again in December. Almost 82 percent of the companies complain of bottlenecks and problems in the procurement of preliminary products and raw materials, as the Munich researchers announced on Thursday based on survey data. According to the Ifo, this is a new record. In November it was 74.4 percent. “The situation in the industry is paradoxical,” said Ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe. The order books are full. The lack of material does not allow the companies to ramp up their production accordingly.
According to Ifo, the number of companies with procurement problems has risen in almost all sectors. Therefore, price increases remain on the agenda. “At least every second company plans to increase its prices in the next three months,” explained Wohlrabe.
In November, the prices of goods imported into Germany rose by 24.7 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. That is the highest rate since October 1974 during the first oil price crisis. In October, import prices were up 21.7 percent compared to the same month last year. Analysts had expected another significant increase, but only with an average of 22.3 percent.
Compared to the previous month, import prices also rose sharply by 3.0 percent in November. However, this is a slight decrease compared to the October value of 3.8 percent.
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The rise in prices is still particularly evident in the case of imported energy, which was 160 percent more expensive than a year ago. Natural gas was almost four times as expensive as a year earlier. The import prices for oil and mineral products roughly doubled. Electric power recorded the highest price increase year-on-year with a plus of 360 percent.
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