Sectors and Resources

Chart in Focus

Topic:

Analyst:

Despite broad-based weakness in recent months, the stock of orders in German manufacturing remained on the uptrend, partly led by the lack of skilled labour and one-off factors in the auto industry (WLTP, diesel). Whilst the high volume of unfilled orders should stabilise industrial production in the current year, the peak ought to be near, as suggested by recent results of the ifo business survey. On balance, manufacturing production in Germany looks set to be virtually flat in 2019. [more]

January 30, 2019

German industry: Growth in investment spending driven by only a few factors

Region:

Germany Monitor

Topic:

Analyst:

During the current cyclical upswing, which started in 2010, German manufacturing companies have increased their real gross capital expenditure by just above 3% p.a. In 2017, the industry accounted for 51% of total other capital spending (intellectual property) in Germany. This shows that manufacturing is the most important driver of research and development and thus of technical progress. The automotive and the pharmaceutical industries stand out from other sectors. The capital stock in energy-intensive industries has been shrinking for years now – a trend that gives cause for concern. While the German manufacturing industry is faced with long-term challenges, we believe that it is nevertheless sufficiently adaptable to remain competitive on a global scale. [more]

January 29, 2019

Brexit is leaving imprints: German exports to the UK on the decline

Region:

Brexit, Sectors and resources

Chart in Focus

Topic:

Analyst:

Dropping for the third consecutive year in 2018, nominal German exports to the UK were down by over 7% compared with 2015, the year preceding the Brexit referendum. The depreciation of the pound sterling and economic uncertainty in the UK were the key drivers behind the downturn. On the sectoral level, the pharmaceutical industry suffered the sharpest declines. In this sector, German exports to the UK look set to have nose-dived by more than 40% between 2015 and 2018, whereas auto exports to the UK plunged by over 20% in the same period. [more]

December 14, 2018

UN Climate Summit: The most inconvenient message remains unsaid

Region:

International

Talking Point

Topic:

Analyst:

Ahead of and during the UN Climate Summit at Katowice, the usual warnings were heard, saying that a reduction in global carbon emissions was urgently necessary. However, these political calls are much too vague. Instead, the most inconvenient message remains unsaid: The technologies which are available today and in the foreseeable future will, in all probability, prove insufficient to counteract climate change to the necessary extent and with the necessary speed and, at the same time, allow households to stick to their consumption patterns and continue with the well-established division of labour along international production chains. [more]

November 21, 2018

Air transport and tourism: more and more serious growing pains

Region:

International

Talking Point

Topic:

Eric Heymann, Marcel Stechert

Analyst:

Steady growth in air transport is leading to capacity bottlenecks, both in terms of available planes and at individual airports. Capacities will need to be increased, which means that more money must be earmarked for fixed-asset investments as well as labour and operating expenses. Taken together, the growing pains in the aviation sector and the rise in jet fuel prices may prove an overwhelming chal-lenge for some market participants. Air transport growth has also resulted in higher capacity utilisation in related sectors, such as tourism (the “overtourism” phenomenon comes to mind). There are, in fact, discussions about limiting or redirecting visitor flows. [more]

November 8, 2018

Industry 4.0 – digitalisation to mitigate demographic pressure

Region:

Digital, Sectors and resources

Germany Monitor

Topic:

Analyst:

Josef Auer

With digitalisation becoming an ever more common feature along the value chain, the German industry looks set to enjoy higher potential growth in the coming years. The additional gross value added in German manufacturing might total EUR 70–140 bn for the years between 2018 and 2025. As a rule, the industrial sector is in a better position than numerous (personal) services sectors to benefit from the favourable impact of digitalisation. Traditional capital goods producers, such as the auto industry or mechanical and electrical engineering, are likely to see their gross value creation benefit more strongly from digitalisation than the metals or chemicals sector. [more]

November 4, 2018

2019: Only 1.3% GDP growth, snap elections a distinct possibility

Region:

Economic and european policy, Macroeconomics, Sectors and resources

Focus Germany

Topic:

Analyst:

Barbara Boettcher, Dieter Bräuninger, Eric Heymann, Stefan Schneider

GDP stagnation in Q3 – 2019 forecast lowered to 1.3%. Despite signs that the WLTP effect is subsiding the recovery looks set to be slow. Export expectations and business sentiment in general have become more clouded on the back of the US/China trade conflict, the problems in the EMs and overall heightened economic uncertainty. Whilst we expect the economy to get back on track in the winter half-year, expansion rates well above potential have become unlikely in 2019. We have therefore trimmed our 2019 growth forecast to 1.3% (1.7%). (Also included in this issue: Auto industry, labour migration, the race for Chancellor Merkel’s succession) [more]

October 12, 2018

Digital infrastructure: Bottlenecks hamper Europe's progress

Region:

Europe

EU Monitor

Topic:

Digital, Sectors and resources

Analyst:

Eric Heymann, Kevin Koerner

During the last few years, the expansion of digital infrastructure in the EU has been carried out more slowly and less comprehensively than politically intended. The EU’s objective of ensuring fast broadband coverage of more than 30 megabits per second for all Europeans by 2020 seems out of reach. There are economic and regulatory reasons for the insufficient progress with digital infrastructure improvements. However, inadequate digital infrastructure puts companies at a disadvantage versus US competitors, but increasingly also versus Chinese players. The European Commission estimates that more than EUR 500 bn will need to be invested by 2025 to achieve the goal of a “gigabit society”. [more]

September 19, 2018

CO2 emission limit values for passenger cars: EU proposals overshoot the mark

Region:

Europe

Talking Point

Topic:

Analyst:

The European Parliament's Environment Committee agreed on setting stricter CO₂ emission limit values for new passenger cars. By 2030, CO₂ emissions shall be reduced by 45% compared with 2021. The targets overshoot the mark. Besides lacking economic efficiency, they are ineffective in terms of meeting the ecological goals. [more]

September 4, 2018

Clouds on the horizon for Goldilocks

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