German industry is paralyzed

The lack of orders and falling exports put Germany at the bottom of the list in terms of growth rates, Azernews reports.

Germany, with its energy-intensive industry and shortage of raw materials, has been particularly affected by the rapid rise in energy prices. Large corporations such as BASF are closing factories because management no longer believes it can efficiently produce essential chemicals. There is a trend of deindustrialization.

The volume of orders from German machine-building and engineering companies decreased by 12 percent in the first half of 2024, according to the industry association VDMA. year to year in real terms. Orders from Germany itself fell especially sharply - by 18 percent. Orders from foreign companies fell by 9 percent. Metallurgical corporations are also suffering, as demand for their products is also falling.

According to Arne Rautenberg, a representative of the Union Investment stock company, industrial production has been falling since 2017. Every second company complains not only about high energy prices but also about the lack of qualified labor and high bureaucratic obstacles.

Political setbacks, on the one hand, and economic changes, on the other, have pushed the German economy into the background, says Eric Heymann from the Deutsche Bank think tank.