Positive economic upswing in Saxony-Anhalt’s industry in 2017

After 3 years with declining sales, industry in Saxony-Anhalt picked up speed again in 2017

The sales volume rose by 3.9 per cent compared to 2016. Annual sales amounted to EUR 37.2 billion, with foreign sales in particular developing very dynamically. They rose to a new high of EUR 11.6 billion (+ 8.2%) and are responsible for nearly a third of sales. The largest increase in foreign sales was posted with the eurozone, which accounted for 53 per cent of all foreign sales. Although domestic sales also improved by 2 per cent, they were still a long way from the high from 2011.

Saxony-Anhalt is clearly benefiting from the economic recovery in the eurozone and the good overall economic situation in Germany. Further, the good performance of incoming orders towards the end of the year means that favourable development can be expected at the beginning of the new year as well, as the reach of incoming orders is approximately 5 months.

The upswing in Saxony-Anhalt’s industry went hand-in-hand with a significant increase in productivity, as both the number of companies and the number of employees or hours of work performed continued to decline slightly. 667 companies were operating in 2017, 9 or 1.3 per cent fewer than in the previous year. Average employment in the year was 109,655 people, 0.3 per cent fewer than in 2016.  

The strong involvement of local industry in the macro-German and European economy was shown in the relatively high significance of the intermediate goods and investment goods branches. Together, these branches accounted for 75 per cent of industrial sales. In Germany as a whole, this ratio was even as high as about 82 per cent.

Source: www.statistik.sachsen-anhalt.de