Capacity utilisation returning to normal

Production development in the manufacturing industry

year on year change in percent 2019 2020 2020 year Q2 Q3 Q4 original value calendar adjusted

compared to previous period in percent 2020 Q2 Q3 Q4 Oct Nov Dec seasonally and calendar adjusted

Production -3.3 - 7.6 -18.1 - 8.7 -2.3 -15.7 10.1 6.2 3.5 1.5 0.0

Industry -4.2 - 9.9 -22.2 -10.6 -3.4 -18.8 14.1 6.6 3.7 1.5 0.9

Intermediat goods -3.6 - 6.1 -17.2 - 7.6 1.2 -16.3 10.3 8.9 4.1 2.6 2.0

Capital goods 0.9 -14.9 -30.6 -15.5 -6.5 -24.6 21.7 7.3 5.5 1.4 -0.5

Consumer goods -4.7 - 4.4 -10.1 - 4.2 -4.2 - 9.0 5.4 0.4 - 1.6 -0.3 2.6

Energy -7.2 - 7.2 -13.0 - 4.4 -2.9 -10.8 6,4 4.5 4.9 -2.6 -2.9

Construction industry 3.3 3.3 1.7 - 0.4 3.1 - 3.2 -1.9 4.0 2.0 2.4 -3.2

Construction industry proper 5.9 5.9 3.8 2.9 2.5 - 1.9 - 0.3 0.4 -0.5 2.3 -4.3

Finishing industry 1.0 0.0 - 0.4 - 3.6 3.5 - 4.4 -3.5 7.6 4.4 2.5 -2.2

Sources: Federal Statistical Office, own calculations

Capacity utilisation returning to normal

At the start of 2021, industrial capacity utilisation continued to increase. According to figures from the ifo Institute, the capacity utilisation rate of machinery in manufacturing at the beginning of the first quarter was at 81.8 percent. That is 1.7 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter but one percentage point lower than one year ago. Capacities are also being utilised 2.3 percentage points less than on average in the last ten years. Capacity utilisation in manufacturing excluding food increased somewhat more strongly at 1.8 percentage points, but still remained under the ten-year average. Among the individual industries, capacity utilisation increased most in the chemical industry, where at 85.6 percent it reached its highest level since early 2018. Capacity utilisation in the metalworking industry rose to 79.3 percent and in machinery manufacturing to 79.6 percent, both thus well below the respective ten-year average. While capacity utilisation among producers of data processing equipment and optical and electronic devices increased at the beginning of the year to exceed last year’s level, it dropped 1.9 percentage points to 84.4 percent among vehicle producers. The capacity utilisation rate in the furniture industry, in shipbuilding and in pharmaceuticals was slightly above the ten-year average at the start of the year in all cases. In the clothing industry, by contrast, utilisation was 14.7 percentage points below the ten-year average.

The trend in vehicle production shows that stepping up production to normal levels does not always go smoothly. According to the ifo economic survey of January this year, companies said that bottlenecks in supplies, in this case of chips, were restricting car production. Companies are also facing increasing