Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 13, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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VCI forecasts stagnation for Germany's chemicals industry in 2025 due to high costs and low demand, following a 2% revenue drop in 2024.
(Reuters) - Industry lobby VCI expects orders and sales for the German chemicals industry to stagnate in 2025 as high producer prices and low order backlogs weigh on revenue, it said on Friday.
The association, which represents around 1,900 companies, said revenues in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry decreased by 2% to 221 billion euros ($231.34 billion) in 2024, as prices decreased and sales in Germany were down by 4%.
The industry suffered from high production costs and weak demand throughout 2023. Some companies flagged tentative signs of recovery in early 2024, but that optimism has since faded as high costs and labour shortages continue to weigh.
"It's a gloomy assessment. The only silver lining is that the rapid downturn of the last two years has not continued," said VCI President Markus Steilemann, who also serves as chief executive for Covestro.
VCI said orders were scarce in 2024, leading to production facilities not operating at full capacity. "As a result, some facilities have been permanently closed in recent months. Further shutdowns are likely to follow," it added.
Germany is lagging behind other countries due to high production costs and increasing bureaucracy, VCI said, adding that the current economic situation was prompting members to reduce their budgets in Germany and increase investments abroad.
($1 = 0.9553 euros)
(Reporting by Chiara Holzhaeuser and Ozan Ergenay, Editing by Friederike Heine)
The article discusses the expected stagnation of Germany's chemicals industry in 2025 due to high production costs and low demand.
The industry faces high production costs, low order backlogs, and increasing bureaucracy, leading to reduced revenues and facility closures.
In 2024, the German chemicals industry saw a 2% decrease in revenues to 221 billion euros, with a 4% drop in domestic sales.
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