A pressing concern looms over the German industrial sector as a shortage of orders intensifies, with 36.9% of firms reporting deficits in January compared to 36.0% in October. Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of ifo Surveys, remarks, "The shortage has significantly intensified over the past year, sparing hardly any industry, and order backlogs are diminishing."
Energy-intensive sectors are particularly hard-hit, with the paper industry facing a 53.9% shortage, metal production and processing at 53.3%, and the Chemical Industry experiencing a 40.6% deficit.