According to a survey published by the ifo Institute in Munich on July 30, the shortage of materials among manufacturers of electrical equipment has increased noticeably. 12.7% of the companies surveyed confirmed shortages - in April 2025, only 5.7% did so. According to Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the ifo surveys, this is presumably a consequence of Chinese export and trade restrictions for certain rare earths. If this trend continues and intensifies, it would affect other sectors such as mechanical engineering and automotive manufacturing.
In industry as a whole, only 5.8% of the companies surveyed reported supply problems (April: 4.1%). This is well below the long-term average (15.0%). 12% of companies in the manufacture of wood products (excluding furniture) were affected by material shortages, in addition to the electrical industry. In the other industry groups, the proportion is below 10%.
The ifo Institute has already identified a possible impact of the shortages in the automotive industry (increase from 0.9% to 7.1%). The mechanical engineering sector has so far been unremarkable: the figure has fallen slightly from 4.9% to 4.6%.
