According to the VdL, 1.47 million tons of coatings, paints and printing inks were sold in Germany in 2023 - a drop of a good 3% compared to the previous year. A further decline of 2% to 1.44 million tons is expected in the current year, reported VdL President Peter Jansen at the VdL's annual business conference. Sales of paints, coatings and printing inks sold in Germany rose by just under 2% in 2023 compared to the previous year due to inflation. The VdL also expects a slight increase of 1% to EUR 6.2 billion in the current year. In addition to the weak domestic market, the significant decline in exports of 11.3% to just 774,000 tons also came as a surprise.
Negative results for decorative paints
The situation is similar in the decorative paints segment with a decline of 4%. While the professional market in Germany declined significantly by -5.5%, the DIY market recovered slightly and grew by just under 1%. For 2024, the VdL is forecasting a further decline in volume of 2.5% to 734,000 tons. Domestic sales will only decline slightly and amount to just under 1.8 billion euros.
Slight increase for industrial coatings
The industrial coatings segment offers a ray of hope. There was a slight increase in consumption of 1.5% in volume in 2023, while the value rose by 6.7% due to price factors. While automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinish coatings, other vehicle construction and anti-corrosion coatings developed quite positively, demand for coatings in the other industrial segments declined, particularly in the wood and furniture industry, where demand fell by just under 9%. In 2024, a small decline of 0.5% in volume is expected due to the lack of orders in some customer segments. Domestic sales are likely to increase by just under 3% due to price effects.
Down 13% for printing inks
Sales of printing inks continued to fall sharply in 2023 - 183,000 tons were consumed in Germany, a drop of just under 13%. Both publication and packaging printing inks suffered significant losses. The outlook for the current year remains weak due to the persistently weak economy - a decline of around 3.5% in volume and value is expected.
Exports and imports weak
The value of exports fell by just under 4% to 3.6 billion euros in 2023. In important neighboring European countries, but also in China, the development of the customer industries was relatively weak, especially in general industry. Imports amounted to 1.3 billion euros (-8%). In 2024, foreign trade is expected to recover by around 2% in terms of value.
Overall forecast for 2024
Business for the paint industry will remain difficult in 2024 - in addition to the still weak architectural coatings market, the environment for industrial coatings will also deteriorate; at best, the economic situation in the industry could improve slightly in the second half of the year.
Bureaucracy and political issues
According to the VdL, companies have reached their limits when it comes to the burden of regulations, reporting obligations and bureaucratic rules from Brussels and Berlin. Small and medium-sized companies in particular are no longer able to cope with the volume of tasks. "Efforts to reduce bureaucracy and improve legislation are essential - this applies to politics in Germany and in Europe," says VdL Managing Director Dr. Martin Kanert.