The sluggish global economy is putting a strain on German export companies. Exports “Made in Germany” fell in August, after calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, both compared to the previous month (minus 1.2 percent) and compared to the same month last year (minus 5.8 percent), as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced. In total, goods worth 127.9 billion euros were delivered abroad.
Goods worth 111.4 billion euros were imported. Here too, a decline was recorded compared to the previous month (minus 0.4 percent) and the same month last year (minus 16.8 percent).
German industry is suffering
“Ultimately, the weak exports should not come as a surprise, as global export volumes have been stagnating for two years now,” explained VP Bank chief economist Thomas Gitzel. German industry, with its high proportion of foreign customers, is suffering from this. “Exports were already clearly in decline in July, and now we have to accept a significant decline in August too.”
The export balance for the first eight months was nevertheless positive. The value of exported goods rose by 1.7 percent to 1,049.9 billion euros.
Last year, German foreign trade achieved record results, partly due to significant price increases. However, the effects cannot be quantified precisely because statisticians do not collect price-adjusted data on foreign trade.
