European Paint and Coating Production recovers in May 2020

In May 2020 the paint and coating production showed different growth patterns in comparing Germany with the EU27 economic area. The German production index rose to 81 points – a slight improvement. In contrast the EU27 index rose sharply to 87.9 points. However, for both indices this means a decline of about -15% from the previous year’s level.

The German Paint and Coating production index changed only slightly. On the one hand, the demand for industrial coatings continued to decline due mainly to the significant contraction in industrial output.

Revival of the market for decorative paints
On the other hand, the German decorative paint market continues to be sustained by strong DIY demand. In many European countries the lifting of the strict lockdown, including the opening of the DIY retail outlets, is prompting a revival of the market for decorative paints. This pattern takes after the German market development since the beginning of the year with only partial DIY retailing lockdown. From a European perspective, the recovery in the countries covered in this analysis is evolving in a similar way.