Status: 03.09.2021 9.45 a.m.
German craft businesses are being hit harder and harder by delivery bottlenecks. The fact that customers cannot get a reliable answer about the vaccination status of the employees also costs orders, according to the central association of the industry.
Material shortages and the disruption of supply chains are becoming an increasingly pressing issue for Germany’s craftsmen. According to a current survey by the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH), almost three quarters of the craft businesses reported at the end of August that raw materials, materials or preliminary products were only available to a limited extent or not at all in the past four weeks. In a company survey in May it was 61 percent.
“The economic recovery of our operations is increasingly burdened by more extensive disruptions in the supply chains and material bottlenecks,” said ZDH President Hans Peter Wollseifer. Meanwhile, according to the information, three out of four companies have to cancel or postpone orders – or they are making losses due to price developments.
According to the association, metals, plastics and electronic components are currently most frequently missing. Wood and insulation materials, on the other hand, are more readily available again.
“Endangering the order situation”
According to Wollseifer, another problem arises because the employees’ corona vaccination status is not known. No reliable information can be given to customers. As a result, almost every tenth company affected in this way has already had to cancel or postpone orders, said the craftsman’s president. “It cannot be that the ignorance of the corona vaccination status leads to a noticeable endangerment of the order situation of our companies.”
In the federal government it is controversial whether employers should be given a right to information about the vaccination status of their employees. It is currently planned that at least employers will in future be able to request information from employees in daycare centers, schools and nursing homes about a corona vaccination or a recovered Covid disease.
Business has stabilized
According to the industry association, the situation of companies in the corona pandemic has improved somewhat. The association spoke of a “respite” in the summer months, significantly fewer companies were affected by sales losses. According to the survey, the order backlog is even growing.
Wollseifer warned, however: “This slight stabilization that has taken place in the meantime must by no means be undone. That is why we must continue to press ahead with vaccination in order to maintain the ability of our companies to continue working and to meet the demands of our customers.” More and more often they are required that only fully vaccinated craftsmen and women work in their premises.