In April 2025, the seasonally adjusted business climate in the German print and media industry showed a slowdown in the upward trend. The business climate index calculated by the German Printing and Media Industries Federation showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.7 per cent compared to the previous month.
While the current assessment of the situation on company floors is positive following the decline in March, decision-makers are somewhat more pessimistic about the business outlook for the next six months. The tariff situation in the USA, which also indirectly affects the printing industry, and the continuation of the weak economic phase are likely to have had a negative impact on expectations in April.
While the order backlog is predominantly considered to be tight, there are initial signs that suggest a slight reduction in the oversupply on the market. In April, for the first time since July 2022, there was no significant year-on-year decline in capacity utilisation. Compared to the previous year, the assessment that the company’s own capacities are too large with regard to the order situation also fell. There were no significant changes in production restrictions in April compared to the previous year. For around a third of the companies surveyed, a lack of orders remains the primary cause of production restrictions, followed by a shortage of skilled labour. 66 per cent of companies expect business development to remain stable over the next six months, while 30 per cent anticipate a deterioration and 4 per cent an improvement. The reasons for the gloomy expectations are likely to be the lack of prospects for a significant improvement in the overall economic situation.
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.
