Significant drop in European paint and coating production in April 2020

According to the B2B market research and consulting institute Chem Research, production in the paint and coatings industry suffered a severe slump in April.

While the decline in the EU27 region reached minus 28.5 %, Germany posted minus 18 %.

Germany’s more positive development was due to the strong performance of decorative paint and coatings. The demand for these products increased significantly in the first four months of 2020, especially in the DIY sector. Unlike in other European countries the lockdown in Germany was less stringent. DIY stores were closed only in some regions and for a limited period of time. Compared with the rest of Europe, the Mediterranean countries, namely Spain, France and Italy, were impacted severely, with declines of up to - 40 %. On the other hand Turkey shows a contraction of nearly - 30 %, while the United Kingdom lost about - 18 %.

Declining sales
The German paint and coating sales turnover statistics also confirm this development. Domestic sales fell by - 13 %, while sales in the euro zone dropped by nearly - 30 %. In contrast, sales to the rest of the world (non-euro European countries plus others) decreased less than 10 %.