The skilled trades in Germany are expecting a difficult year – with consequences for consumers too. “Craft services will become more expensive because the costs for companies will increase in many places. And companies will not accept an order if they make a loss,” said Jörg Dittrich, President of the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH). “The future prospects are getting worse in all areas,” said Dittrich. “The confidence that is necessary to achieve the gigantic transformation goals that politicians and we have set for ourselves is no longer there.”
Even the plumbing, heating and air conditioning companies said that the order lead time had become smaller. “Six months ago it was said that we didn’t have enough people to achieve the goals we had set and thus the transformation.” Reality and goals drifted apart. The number of building permits in Germany has been falling for months – expensive building materials and sharply increased interest rates are slowing things down. “The situation in construction and especially in residential construction has deteriorated again,” said Dittrich. The vast majority of measures that were agreed at a federal government “construction summit” in September have not yet been implemented. There is considerable uncertainty. “Housing construction is currently collapsing and this threatens to drag other areas down with it. Apartments that are urgently needed are not being built.
“Of course, a recession in Germany, inflation and cost drivers such as the skyrocketing CO₂ price are not leaving the trade unscathed,” said the trade president. A general price decline is not in sight due to the overall situation. There will also be longer waiting times of weeks or months. “The times when large orders were awarded and the craftsmen came the next day because there was so much capacity are a thing of the past. But I don’t think it’s a catastrophe that major investments like a complete renovation of the bathroom or that Covering a complete roof requires a longer lead time.” Consumers should not apply any different standards to craft trades than to other industries, where it is taken for granted that individually ordered products often only take weeks or months to be delivered. “It is important that the craftsmen and women come to emergency situations.”
Dittrich made it clear that clear expectations of federal government companies had lost trust in the reliability of political action. The federal government makes announcements, but then follows them up with little or no action. “That’s simply not enough. The Chancellor says we want to make a Germany pact. Where is it actually? A bureaucracy relief law was announced for this year. Where is the cabinet decision on this? The Chancellor met with the Prime Minister and discussed approval – and planning acceleration. Where has all this been put into legal texts? There are still too many announcements.” Companies wanted to invest in transformation and modernization. “But then it is also the duty of politicians to see whether and how the companies can actually cope with this and whether their overall burden is still bearable.” But the reality from Dittrich’s point of view is that the total burden of taxes, duties and documentation requirements is now a world record.