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Port of Hamburg (2020)
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Christian Charisius / DPA
At first glance, it still seems a bit paradoxical: While many traders, restaurateurs and self-employed are struggling to survive, business in many manufacturing companies is doing splendidly.
According to a survey by the internationally renowned research company IHS Markit, the mood in German industry is even better than ever measured before, despite the pandemic.
The so-called purchasing managers index rose by 5.9 points to 66.6 points in March, as the company announced in London on Thursday.
Best value since the survey began
That is a value well beyond the limit of 50 points, which is considered an indicator of growing economic activity.
In other large economies in the euro area such as France, Italy and Spain, the industry is recovering significantly from the sharp slump during the first Corona wave in spring 2020.
In the euro area as a whole, the sentiment index rose by 4.6 points to 62.5 points.
This is also the highest value ever measured since the survey began almost 24 years ago.
The Eurozone industry is booming, said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
However, there are delivery bottlenecks, which is why purchase prices rise sharply.
Neither is a new phenomenon and has been observed for some time.
One aspect of the problem is the severe shortage of containers in shipping.
The transport costs have therefore risen sharply.
A major reason why the industry can recover so strongly despite Corona is the design of the Corona restrictions.
These affect the manufacturing sector much less than the service sector and even more so to trade.
Markit economist Williamson explained that the industry is benefiting from rising domestic and export demand.
The increasing foreign demand comes primarily from Asia and there in particular from China, whose economy has recovered significantly from the Corona slump.
The economy of the world's largest economy, the USA, is also doing better.
The problem: Although exports to overseas are picking up strongly, Europe as a whole threatens to be left behind by economic development.
beb / dpa