Archive for category News
Value creation losses due to lack of STEM specialists
June 17th, 2013 | Thema: News
German companies lacked around 119,000 qualified workers at the end of April 2013 in the so-called STEM area, i.e. employees with qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. According to the spring STEM report from the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Cologne Institute for Economic Research), by 2020 there will be around 600,000 too few STEM specialists available on the German labour market to replace specialists leaving for reasons of age. The fact from 2005 to 2010 the number of employed STEM graduates over 55 and correspondingly qualified immigrants each increased by more than a third would also not alter this.
When the need for specialists to provide growth and innovation is added, the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft’s estimates even assume a lack of 1.4 million employees with STEM qualifications by 2020. According to scientific calculations every non-staffed STEM job causes a loss of value creation of 230,000 euros a year.
Mittelstand plans increases in plant investments
June 10th, 2013 | Thema: News
According to the results of a CAPEX report established by GE Capital, the German Mittelstand wants to spend around 164 billion euros on IT and plant investments in the coming 12 months. Thus investment planning is around 60 per cent above the previous year’s level. Machinery is in first place in the Mittelstand’s investment budget: planned investment volumes amount to 76.5 billion euros. About one third of companies want to expand their capacities in this way to create space for new orders. About 23 per cent of those surveyed are acquiring plant to launch new products on the market.
But the German Mittelstand is not only investing in machinery but also in people: about 12 per cent of companies are spending money on acquiring skilled labour and 48 per cent of the companies surveyed want to increase staffing levels. If the course of investments goes to plan around 986,000 new jobs would thus be created in the coming twelve months.
Mechanical engineering: falling exports in the first quarter
June 3rd, 2013 | Thema: News
The slow development of economic activity on world markets was also noticeable in the export statistics of the German mechanical engineering sector in the first quarter of 2013. According to current figures from the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA, or German Engineering Federation), mechanical engineering exports fell in the first quarter by a nominal 5.8 per cent from 37.3 billion euros to 35.2 billion euros in comparison with the previous year. In the EU-27 countries, to which 40.2 per cent of exports go, German mechanical engineers posted a minus of 9.1 per cent. In China, which with a share of exports of eleven per cent is the most important market outside the EU, companies made 3.6 per cent fewer sales. After high growth US exports declined by 4.3 per cent in annual comparison. Mechanical engineering exports to the important markets of Brazil and India had a fall in double figures on the previous year’s values.
In the first quarter of 2013 mechanical engineers’ business went better with South East Asia (plus 5.3 per cent), Saudi Arabia (plus 9.2 per cent) and Turkey (plus 8.9 per cent). Exports to North African countries also achieved higher rates of increase again.
Economic activity weaker in China’s manufacturing industry
May 27th, 2013 | Thema: News
Economic activity in manufacturing industry in China has fallen slightly. This is proved by the latest figures of the provisional Purchasing Managers’ Index HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI for May 2013, which the HSBC banking group has now currently identified. Thus for the first time since October 2012 the index is below the growth threshold again at 49.6 points. In April 2013 it was still at a level of 50.4 points. A sub-index, which measures total new orders, fell to 49.5 per cent. This means it is at the lowest level since September 2012. The downwards trend also applies to export orders. Employment has also declined further while manufacturers continued to have fewer orders in hand. At the same time output rose nevertheless, if also at a slower speed.
In the opinion of China experts these developments are evidence that the Chinese domestic economy is not in a position to compensate for falling international demand for goods from manufacturing industry.
Euro crisis subdues exports and economic activity in 1st quarter
May 20th, 2013 | Thema: News
According to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) the German economy only grew by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. In addition, the economy contracted more strongly in the final quarter of last year than previously assessed at 0.7 per cent. In the opinion of the DIW Berlin the export sector is primarily responsible: “The crisis in the eurozone and the weak world economy have burdened German economic growth more strongly and longer than expected,” said the DIW Germany expert Simon Junker. As a result companies had also held back investments. He added that economic development was primarily being supported by private consumption expenditure.
The DIW Berlin remains optimistic for 2013: the institute expects continuing positive impulses from abroad, primarily from emerging markets. In the course of the year this should cause companies to use the cheap financing conditions to invest in equipment. The DIW Berlin expects noticeable growth in economic output, primarily in the second half of the year.