Material shortages continued to decline in Germany’s manufacturing sector at the end of the year, according to a survey by the Ifo economic institute published on Tuesday.
In December, 50.7% of the companies surveyed reported having problems, compared to 59.3% in November, which is the third consecutive decline, according to the survey.
“Shortages seem to subside in many sectors,” which would underpin the economy in the coming months, said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo.
“However, depending on the evolution of the coronavirus situation in China, there could again be setbacks in bottlenecks,” he added.
In almost all manufacturing industries, the number of companies experiencing material shortages declined, although some of the figures were still well above their long-term average, the survey showed.
Machine and equipment manufacturers and the automotive industry continued to bear the brunt.
