The seasonally adjusted business climate index calculated by the BVDM showed an increase of 0.4 per cent compared to the previous month. While companies rated the current business situation slightly worse than in September, expectations for the coming six months improved. The positive development of business expectations contributed to the stabilisation of the business climate.
In October 2025, the decision-makers at printing and media companies surveyed by the ifo Institute rated their current business situation slightly worse than in the previous month. However, their assessments for the next six months were more optimistic this month.
This development is attributable to a change in companies’ assessment of the situation. The proportion of companies with a positive assessment of their current situation improved. By contrast, the proportion of companies with a negative assessment of their business situation increased, while the proportion of neutral assessments fell slightly. Assessments of the current order backlog are predominantly negative. Only eight percent of the companies surveyed assess their order backlog positively, while 37 percent give a neutral assessment and 55 percent a negative assessment. Slightly more than half of the companies complained about production bottlenecks in October. The biggest obstacle to production was the lack of orders, followed by the shortage of skilled workers.
The business expectations of companies in the printing and media industry for the coming six months improved in October 2025. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed expect business to remain unchanged over the next six months. Around two per cent expect the business situation to improve, while 24 per cent expect it to deteriorate.
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.
