Germany boosts chemical sales as US buys more

The moderate growth course of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry in Germany continued in the second quarter of 2015, according to the latest quarterly report by the German chemical industry association Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI). 

Thanks to the strong pharma business, chemical production rose once more against the previous quarter, while the prices for chemicals stabilized.

Total chemical industry sales went up because of foreign business. In particular, trading with overseas customers developed positively, led by vigorous growth in sales to the US. Meanwhile, exports benefited from the favorable rate of the euro to the US dollar. 

Sales also expanded in Europe, the industry’s major export market.

“At present, the upward trend mainly relies on pharmaceuticals," said VCI president Marijn Dekkers. "In the overall picture, we are expecting slight growth for the second half of 2015. The weak euro benefits exports, and low oil prices positively impact the chemical business too. But at the same time, the economic situation is becoming less dynamic in China -- the largest chemical market worldwide.”

For the year 2015 as a whole, the VCI maintains its forecast of a 1.5% increase in chemical production. Chemical prices are anticipated to drop by 2.5%; chemical industry sales should rise by 1% to 192.7 billion euros.

From April to June 2015, chemical production in Germany rose by 1.6% against the previous quarter. An increase by 3.4% was achieved in comparison with the second quarter of 2014. In the period under review, capacity utilization in the industry was 83.5%.

For the first time after three quarters, chemical prices were back on the rise in the second quarter of 2015. They climbed by 0.9% over the previous three months, but still remained 2.6% below the level of the second quarter of 2014.

After a drop at the beginning of the present year, chemical industry sales improved once again from April to June 2015. They went up by 0.4% against the previous quarter and by 2.3% against the previous year. This positive development was driven by strong foreign business.

The number of jobs remained constant in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry in the second quarter of 2015. At present, the industry has 447,000 staff.