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Auto production: industry in shock
Photo: Josef Vostarek / imago images / CTK Photo
German industry massively scaled back investments in the corona crisis year 2020.
She invested 60.8 billion euros in property, plant and equipment such as machines, land with buildings or tools.
That was almost 9.8 billion or 13.9 percent less than in the previous year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday in Wiesbaden.
The four largest sectors - automotive, chemical, mechanical engineering, and food and feed - accounted for a good half of the investments made by German industry, at 30.5 billion euros.
Among them, however, only the chemical industry increased investments in the past year (plus 3.8 percent to 6.1 billion euros).
Mechanical engineering and car manufacturers, on the other hand, took an above-average step on the brakes and, as a precaution for the crisis, cut spending by around a fifth (minus 22.6 percent and minus 18.5 percent).
In Germany's largest industrial sector, the automobile industry, the decline in investment amounted to 13.7 billion euros in absolute terms.
Some industrial sectors are expecting catch-up effects this year.
According to the industry association VCI, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry is expecting a record for investments.
mik / dpa-AFX
