At the start of 2026, the seasonally adjusted business climate in the German printing and media industry improved. The seasonally adjusted business climate index calculated by the BVDM showed an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the previous month. The business outlook for the next six months and the current assessment of the business situation were better than in the previous month.
The seasonally and calendar-adjusted business situation index recorded growth in January compared with the previous month and was around 2.3 per cent above the corresponding level of the previous year. Seven per cent of the companies surveyed assessed their current business situation as positive, 39 per cent as negative, while 53 per cent considered it satisfactory. Despite this slight improvement, the business and order situation remains tense. Only five per cent of companies rated their order books positively, while 50 per cent gave a negative assessment. Forty-five per cent rated their order situation as neutral. In addition, 46 per cent of companies report production bottlenecks. At 40 per cent, the lack of orders is by far the most frequently cited obstacle, followed by the shortage of skilled workers at 25 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted business expectations index rose by 4.2 percent compared to the previous month. Only five percent of companies expect the business situation to improve, while 28 percent anticipate a downturn. In the previous month, 44 percent of companies expected the business situation to deteriorate, indicating a more optimistic mood. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents expect business development to remain unchanged over the next six months. More companies also expect prices to rise than fall over the next three months. However, with a balance of six percentage points, this difference is small. Almost 90 per cent of companies expect prices to remain unchanged.
BVDM
The German Printing and Media Association (BVDM) is the umbrella organisation for the German printing industry. As an employers’ association, political trade association and technical association, it represents the positions and objectives of the printing industry vis-à-vis politicians, administrators, trade unions and the supply industry. The BVDM is supported by eight regional associations. Internationally, it is organised through its membership of Intergraf and FESPA. The printing industry currently comprises around 6,300 predominantly small and medium-sized companies with more than 99,000 employees subject to social insurance contributions.
