In May 2025, the seasonally adjusted business climate in the German print and media industry deteriorated and the slight upward trend since February 2025 has come to an end for the time being. The seasonally adjusted business climate index calculated by the BVDM showed a decline of 4.3 per cent compared to the previous month. The current assessment of the situation and the business outlook for the next six months were more pessimistic than in previous months.
Following the increase in April, the seasonally adjusted business situation index recorded a significant deterioration in May. At 83.0 points, the index was around 5.1 per cent lower than in the previous month. The index was therefore 2.8 per cent lower than in the same month last year. The decline is largely due to a less positive assessment of the situation. The proportion of positive business situation assessments fell from 15 to 3 percentage points year-on-year and the proportion of negative assessments fell from 38 to 30 percentage points. Accordingly, the proportion of businesses with a neutral assessment rose from 48 to 68 per cent. A look at the earnings assessments continues to indicate a tense earnings situation in the companies. With a balance of -52 percentage points, the assessment in May was around 9 percentage points worse than in the previous year. Around 54 per cent of respondents rated their current earnings situation as poor. Only 1 per cent rated the current situation as positive, while 45 per cent gave a satisfactory assessment.
The business outlook for the next 6 months also fell in May for the second month in a row. The seasonally adjusted index of business expectations fell by around 3.5 per cent compared to the previous month. With a share of 72 per cent, the majority of companies expect business development to remain the same over the next 6 months. Around 25 per cent expect the business situation to deteriorate, while only 3 per cent anticipate an improvement.
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 6,300 predominantly small and medium-sized companies with more than 99,000 employees subject to social security contributions
