Current ifo survey
Less material shortages in the industry?
The supply of primary products in industry has eased, according to a recent survey by the ifo Institute. After 11.2 percent in November, only 7.5 percent of companies reported difficulties procuring the materials they need for their production in December. "The availability of primary products in industry has improved overall," says Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of ifo Surveys. "However, supply chains must continue to be monitored closely."
The shortage of materials in the automotive industry fell particularly sharply. Only 5.6% of companies experienced shortages of primary products in December, compared to 27.6% in November. The situation also improved noticeably for manufacturers of electronic and optical products: the proportion of companies affected fell from 17.5% to 10.9%. The figure for manufacturers of electrical equipment also fell, from 16.0% to 12.2%.
Despite this positive development, a certain risk remains. The increasing focus of many chip manufacturers on applications in the field of artificial intelligence is increasing the demand for certain primary products and capacities. This would put renewed pressure on individual branches of industry. Against this backdrop, the current easing of the situation is a positive signal, but it does not yet guarantee a sustainable stabilization of supply chains.
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