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Economy |
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The woodworking and furniture industry is typical of the small and medium sized industrial businesses established in Germany. At present, about 200,000 men and women are employed in some 2,600 companies. Annual sales in the industry amount to EUR 37 bn. Thus in terms of the number of businesses, the woodworking and furniture industry is roughly comparable with the textile and clothing industry, although its sales volume is higher, in which it is very close to the printing and publishing sector.
Also represented by the HDH or its regional associations are the numerous member companies of the plastics processing industry, for example in the manufacture of construction elements or other plastic components. Approximately 7% of sales in the whole of the processing industry in Germany are generated by firms engaged in the woodworking, furniture and plastics processing industry.
The woodworking and furniture branch – like other industries – is still in a difficult economic position. On the one hand, the demand in the home market was very weak for years. The consumers were extremely cautious, especially in the purchase of consumer durables such as furniture, while in the building industry, the market began to pick up very slowly, mainly with detached houses. In other fields, investments were at a low level due to general uncertainty about the further economic development. But on the other hand the export trade provided a powerful impetus to the German economy.
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Development of the German Furniture Industry's total turnover 1995-2006
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Woodworking and Furniture Industry
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The woodworking industry in Germany consists mainly of the segments furniture, prefabricated housing and construction elements, woodbased materials and the remaining wood materials industry. Each of these experienced a different rate of development. Moreover, all the figures indicated here are comparatively rough, aggregate statistics, expressing the average performances of the individual businesses concerned, whether positive or negative.
During the year 2003, the furniture industry – the major pillar of the woodworking industry – employed an average of 137,298 persons in a total of 1,293 firms, i.e. an average level of 106 employees per firm. Altogether, 9,474 less persons (men and women) were employed than in 2002 – a fall of 6.9%. About 40 firms (3.4%) ceased production. Manufacturing sales of furniture last year totalled EUR 19.8 bn, representing a fall of 2.1% as against the previous year. But despite these declining figures, Germany remains by far the biggest market for furnishings in Europe.
Following an extremely difficult year 2002, all segments of the furniture industry again suffered losses as a result of the decline in demand in the home – but also the European – markets, even though the situation seems to be stabilising.
An analysis of the segments of the furniture industry reveals the following scenario: In the office and shop furniture segment, sales dropped by 12.2%, and in the kitchen furniture segment by 3.4% while sales of other furniture – mainly box furniture – declined by 3.5%. On the other hand, the seating furniture and mattress industries recorded statistical growth rates of
2.5% and 5.2% respectively. It must be noted, however, that the official statistics provide a distorted picture of the sales development in the seating furniture industry, especially because they include seats for motor vehicles, sales of which are developing dynamically. If we include the economic index for the upholstered furniture industry prepared by HDH/VDM, the statistics reveal a fall in sales of upholstered furniture amounting to 6.8% in 2003.
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Plastics Industry
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The development of the German plastics processing industry gives a good reason for optimism. Total sales of the industry rose by 3.6% to reach EUR 42.2 bn. A glance at the individual part-segments of the plastics industry reveals without exception a positive situation. The manufacturers of plastic panels and foils, for example, were able to increase their sales by 4.7%, sales by manufacturers of plastic construction elements rose by as much as 6.8%, while sales of other plastic products rose by a modest 1.2%. Between January and December 2003, the industry employed on average 282,251 men and women, corresponding to an increase of 1.6% over the previous year. During the same period, the number of businesses rose by
2.1% to 2,804.
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