BERLIN (Reuters) – Supply constraints afflicting German industry grew more severe in November, with 74.4% of firms complaining of problems procuring inputs and raw materials, a 4 percentage point increase over October, the Ifo institute said.
“There is no sign of the hoped-for relief,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, director of the Munich-based institute, warning that the constraints would feed through into prices.
“Never have so many companies said they plan to raise prices,” Wohlrabe added.
The Munich-based institute said its survey of German companies had found sharper supply constraints in all sectors except the electrical equipment sector, where the share of firms reporting problems slipped from 90% to 85%.
It remained one of the most severely affected sectors, along with the machine building sector, where 86% reported problems, and the auto sector, where 88% had problems. The sector least affected was drinks manufacturing, where only 40% reported bottlenecks.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
