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The mood in the German wood industry remained cloudy in August 2023. <\/span><\/p>\n According to the Main\u00a0Association\u00a0of the German Woodworking Industries (HDH)\u00a0economic indicator fell slightly to -33.1 points, from -32.3 points in the previous month of July.\u00a0The reason for this was the sharp decline in satisfaction with current business.<\/p>\n Companies in the German wood industry assessed their current situation as significantly worse in August than in the previous month. The value determined by the ifo Institute fell to -27.9 points. In July it was -22.5 points. In view of the collapse in construction demand, the worsening financing conditions and the declining order intake, the industry was also concerned about the next half of the year. The value for assessing business expectations improved, but remained clearly in negative territory. In August it was -38.1 points.<\/p>\n From the HDH's perspective, this was primarily due to the declining demand for construction and lower real incomes.\u00a0The number of building permits for new one- and two-family houses fell by 38.4% in the first half of the current year compared to the previous year due to high construction costs and increasingly poor financing conditions, and building permits for multi-family houses fell by 33.8%.<\/p>\n The inflation rate in Germany, most recently at 6.2% in July 2023, remained too high in international comparison.\u00a0The prices for important raw materials and intermediate products in the wood industry continued to be at a high level.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The mood in the German wood industry remained cloudy in August 2023. According to the Main\u00a0Association\u00a0of the German Woodworking Industries (HDH)\u00a0economic indicator fell slightly to -33.1 points, from -32.3 points in the previous month of July.\u00a0The reason for this was … Continue reading