A survey conducted by Wirtschaftsverband Stahl- und Metallverarbeitung (WSM) revealed Germany’s steel and processing industry will be facing tough times ahead.
More than 85pc medium-sized companies, who are members of the German steel and metal processing association, anticipate sales to decrease by over 10pc this year—with nearly 30pc of respondents bracing for sales to decline more than 25pc.
Ninety-percent of survey respondents reported reduced operational capacity, with some having cut working hours by 50pc and 15pc have completely cut hours.
The report alludes to the 2008 financial crisis exposing weak contingencies for global supply chains and encourages companies implicated in the current crisis to take collaborative approaches to the COVID-19 disruption, rather than falling back on legal threats, as some have. Some primary material producers are unwilling to recalibrate their order quantities, which, the report postulates, will complicate activity resumption.
Additionally, WSM lauds the decision to provide liquidity loans to small- and medium-sized businesses, although it urges the eradication of bureaucratic hindrances in what it describes as a time of crisis.