At the end of the year, 83% of companies rated their economic situation as "very good" or "rather good." A similar number last said this at the beginning of 2019. Nine out of 10 companies also expect the order situation to continue to develop positively in the coming months: Around 30% of all companies expect better business opportunities by March 2022. A further 60% expect the outlook to remain unchanged.
This was the result of a survey conducted by VDMA Ost among its 350 members in Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
"The direction has been pointing upwards for several quarters now. More and more mechanical engineering companies are looking at well-filled order books and want to hire new employees in the coming months," said Oliver Köhn, MD, VDMA East regional association.
Compared with the previous quarter, capacity utilization climbed by a good 3% points. Firms utilized their existing capacity at an average rate of 89.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. This figure is the highest in more than two years.
The order backlog of the companies has also increased. On average, it will last for 5.7 production months until the end of June 2022. Nine out of 10 companies also reported an increase in orders or a stable order situation compared to the third quarter.
As demand for mechanical engineering products and services increases, so does the need for skilled workers. By June 2022, 50% of companies plan to retain their current employees and another 47% of companies plan to hire new employees.
"This means that people in the eastern German regions will have the best opportunities in a future-oriented industry. However, at the end of the year, around four out of five companies (84%) were having difficulty filling vacancies with suitable skilled workers or engineers," explains Köhn. The problems run through all areas of the company. However, according to the survey, jobs in design, software development, service and production were most affected.
The supply bottlenecks for components, materials and raw materials, as well as the immensely rising costs of materials and energy, also continue to be a major concern for companies. But the coronavirus pandemic is also having an impact on day-to-day operations.
For example, three-quarters of companies cited the impact of the pandemic as the biggest challenge in 2021, including travel restrictions, disrupted supply chains and employee absenteeism. "This concern continues to preoccupy businesses these days. In some cases, the absence of skilled workers due to illness and quarantine outweighs supplier failures. The restrictions as well as the frequently changing and regionally different regulations are also increasing dissatisfaction," says the association's managing director, describing the situation. Added to this is the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is flaring up again with the threat of sanctions. "Politicians must work intensively for a diplomatic solution," Köhn demands.
Despite the various burdens, the industry is largely optimistic. 90.4% of companies expect business opportunities in the first quarter of 2022 to be unchanged or better than before.
