Following the increase in July, the mood among companies in the German print and media industry improved again in August. The business climate index calculated by the German Printing and Media Industries Federation recorded a seasonally and calendar-adjusted increase of around 3.5 per cent compared to the previous month. At 96.1 points, the index reached its highest level since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022 and was therefore around 9.7 per cent above the previous year’s level. The improvement in the business climate was largely determined by the rise in business expectations?
In August 2024, the decision-makers at printing and media companies surveyed by the ifo Institute assessed their current business situation as slightly better than in the previous month. With regard to business expectations for the next six months, the company managers surveyed were once again more optimistic than in the previous month.
In August, the seasonally and calendar-adjusted business situation index rose slightly after two months of declining figures. At 85.3 points, the index was only slightly below the previous annual high from April. Overall, however, the level remains below average despite the significant improvement compared to the first quarter of 2024, with the index losing around 2.4 percentage points year-on-year. In August, the majority of business leaders surveyed (around 60 per cent) rated the current business situation as neutral. 34 per cent gave a negative assessment, while positive assessments remained low at around 6 per cent.
Expectations regarding the development of the business situation over the next six months once again looked significantly better in August than in the previous month. At 108.4 points, the seasonally and calendar-adjusted index recorded an increase of around 5.2 per cent compared to the previous month and was around 23.3 per cent higher than the previous year’s figure. For the first time since February 2022, the proportion of companies (26 per cent) that expect their business situation to improve within the next 6 months exceeds the number of companies that forecast a deterioration (15 per cent). However, the majority (59 per cent) continue to expect business development to remain the same. With regard to the expected development of employment figures, no improvement can be seen for the time being. With a negative balance of -18.4 percentage points, companies’ expectations point to an ongoing reduction in employment.
BVDM
The Bundesverband Druck und Medien e. V. (bvdm) is the umbrella organisation of the German printing industry. As an employers’ organisation, political business association and technical trade association, it represents the positions and objectives of the printing industry vis-à-vis politicians, administration, trade unions and the supplier 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 6,900 predominantly small and medium-sized companies with more than 110,000 employees subject to social security contributions.
Bundesverband Druck und Medien e. V. (Federal Assiciation of printing & media e.V.) :
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