In Germany, around 1.53 million tons of coatings, paints and printing inks were sold in 2022. This is a minus of 4.5% compared to the previous year. A further decline of 2-3% is expected in the current year, reported President Peter Jansen at the annual business conference of the German Coatings and Printing Inks Industry Association (VdL). Sales of coatings, inks and printing inks rose by 8% year-on-year to 6.1 billion euros due to inflation. The VdL also expects a slight increase of a good 2% in the current year. High raw material prices, the energy crisis and rising bureaucratic costs are depressing the earnings of paint manufacturers.
The risk of inflation and the acute global political situation make it extremely difficult to forecast economic developments. Without significant further disruptions, the VdL expects German paint manufacturers' output to decline by around 2%. Domestic demand will decline in a similar way. In value terms, a slight increase in domestic demand of 2% is still expected. "The industry cannot be satisfied with these figures, but we are struggling with the adversities of our times," comments President Peter Jansen. "Our appeal is to legislators not to place additional burdens on businesses in this difficult economic environment."