production
Ifo: Record order backlog in German industry
According to an analysis by the Ifo Institute, German industry, which is struggling with supply problems, has accumulated a record number of uncompleted orders. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In theory, German industry has enough orders for the next four and a half months. But more and more are coming. Above all, the lack of material causes problems.
According to an analysis by the Ifo Institute, German industry, which is struggling with supply problems, has accumulated a record number of uncompleted orders.
The order backlog in April was sufficient for the next four and a half months, as the Munich economic researchers announced on Monday. In the January survey, it was 4.4 months. According to the Ifo, the long-term average of the order backlog is just 2.9 months.
“The backlog of orders not only reflects the high demand for German industrial goods in recent months, but also the difficulties companies are having in processing existing orders promptly due to the lack of important preliminary products and raw materials,” said Timo Wollmershäuser, head of Ifo economic forecasts .
The range of orders is particularly large in the automotive industry including suppliers at 7.4 months and in mechanical engineering at 6.5 months. If the delivery bottlenecks resolve in the coming months, the Ifo Institute believes that production could take off. “That would then give a strong boost to economic output,” said Wollmershäuser. However, the economist expects the supply bottlenecks to worsen, primarily as a result of the corona lockdowns in China.