Germany Faces Its Biggest Industrial Slowdown In A Decade

Germany, Europe's industrial powerhouse and biggest economy, suffered a steep decline in its industrial production in October , Bloomberg reported

Industrial output dropped 5.3 per cent in October from the same month in 2018, according to the country’s Federal Statistics Office.

The larger than expected drop in industrial output was primarily driven by fall in the production of capital goods, including tools, buildings, vehicles, machinery, and equipment

Makers of machinery and automobile manufacturers, comprising the core of German industry, fared particularly badly. Vehicle production in the country further declined 5.6 per cent from September to October, taking the year-on-year decline to 14.4 per cent.

The country’s economy grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter, narrowly avoiding recession, which economists usually define as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Germany’s export-focused economy has been hit by the protacted US-China trade disputed, continued uncertainty over Brexit and a sharp decline in car industry output. The automobile inustry has been disrupted by new emissions rules and exacerbated by shift to electric vehicles. The automobile industry directly employs 830,000 people and supports a further 2m jobs in the wider economy,

German automotive behemoths Daimler and Audi and leading suppliers like Continental and Bosch have announced job cuts mounting to 50,000.