The operating conditions of the German chemical industry have further deteriorated

Recently, the German Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) stated that the operating conditions of the German chemical industry further deteriorated in October as the industry struggled to pass on higher costs to customers, affecting profitability.

In the Ifo survey, orders and demand for chemical products in the German chemical industry continued to decline in October, and more and more companies rated their profitability as bad. Raw material supplies in Germany's chemical industry deteriorated in October, with nearly half of companies in the sector reporting difficulties sourcing intermediate products, Ifo said. Anna Wolf, chemical expert at Ifo, said: "The chemical industry cannot escape the tense economic environment. The high cost of raw materials can no longer be easily passed on through sales prices, which puts pressure on the profitability of the chemical industry."

Ifo's assessment index of the operating conditions of the German chemical industry dropped from -11.7 points in September to -19.9 points in October, and the index for the second half of 2022 fell to -28.5 points, in stark contrast to the 8.3 points in the first half of the year.