In April 2026, the seasonally adjusted business climate in the German printing and media industry improved. The seasonally adjusted business climate index compiled by the BVDM rose by 0.4 per cent compared with the previous month. Whilst companies assessed their current business situation as slightly worse than in March, expectations for the coming six months improved slightly.
The seasonally and calendar-adjusted business situation index recorded a decline of 0.5 per cent in April 2026 compared with the previous month and stood at 88.6 points, around 1.4 per cent above the corresponding level of the previous year. This development is attributable to a change in how companies assessed the situation. Five per cent of the businesses surveyed rated their current business situation as positive, 20 per cent rated it as negative, whilst 75 per cent considered the situation to be satisfactory.
There has been a slight improvement in the assessment of order books. 13 per cent of the companies surveyed rate their order books positively, 52 per cent neutrally and 35 per cent negatively. However, despite this improvement, the business and order situation remains tight, as reflected in the assessments of capacity utilisation. This is 4.4 per cent lower than in the same month last year. 58 per cent of the companies surveyed report production bottlenecks, with a lack of orders (49 per cent) and a shortage of skilled workers (20 per cent) being the main obstacles.
Companies’ business expectations for the coming six months have improved slightly. Three per cent of companies expect a better business situation, whilst 35 per cent anticipate a downturn. 62 per cent of respondents expect business conditions to remain unchanged over the next six months. With regard to the development of selling prices, 46 per cent of the companies surveyed expect prices to rise, 50 per cent expect them to remain stable, and only 4 per cent expect them to fall.
BVDM
The German Printing and Media Industries Federation (BVDM) is the leading association of the German printing industry. As an employers’ association, political business association, and technical trade association, it represents the positions and goals of the printing industry to policymakers, government agencies, trade unions, and suppliers. The BVDM is supported by eight regional associations. Internationally, it is organized through its membership in Intergraf and FESPA. The printing industry currently comprises approximately 6,300 predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises with more than 99,000 employees subject to social security contributions.
