Germany manufacturing materials shortages fall in January - Ifo

Materials shortages have decreased in German manufacturing, according to a survey by the Ifo economic institute published on Thursday.

In January, 48.4% of companies surveyed reported problems, down from 50.7% in December, Ifo said.

"Given the mild winter recession that's emerging, we would've liked to see a stronger decline," Ifo's head of surveys Klaus Wohlrabe said in a statement.

"Many companies are only slowly managing to work through their high order backlogs."

The situation for machinery and equipment makers and in the automotive industry remained virtually unchanged, Ifo added, with 75% of companies in these segments continuing to report bottlenecks in raw materials and intermediate products.

Among food and beverage manufacturers, the figure was just under one-third. The situation in the chemical industry is continuing to ease: the share of affected companies has fallen to just under a quarter, the lowest level since the start of 2021.

The paper industry is feeling comparatively few effects, with just 13.8% reporting problems. In basic metals, the figure has dropped to 7.4%, as low as it was before the shortage crisis began.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharescast.com