Production and sales of the German chemical industry increased in the third quarter 2014 by 0.5 %, respectively, against the previous quarter. The prices for chemical products were stable in the 3rd quarter. From July to September, chemicals prices were only 0.1 % higher than in the previous quarter – but they were 0.6 % lower than one year ago. According to the latest report by the German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie; VCI), the positive development of foreign business in almost all regions led to the production and sales increases.
A minor decline was recorded in domestic business, due to a further drop in industrial production in Germany caused by, e.g., many company holidays in the summertime.
As compared with the previous quarter, sales in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry increased by 0.5 % to 44.9 billion €. The level of the previous year was also exceeded by 0.5 %. Growth impulses came exclusively from foreign business.
For the year 2014, the VCI maintains its forecast of 1.5 % growth in chemical production and of 1 % rise in sales.
At present, the chemical-pharmaceutical industry has 442,000 staff in Germany. From July to September 2014, employment remained unchanged against the previous quarter. The number of staff increased by 1 % against the previous year.
- German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie e.V. – VCI) , Frankfurt, Germany
