Producer confidence continues to rise in August
The long-term average over the past two decades is 0.4. Producer confidence reached an all-time high (10.9) in February 2018 and reached an all-time low (-28.7) in April 2020. Pessimism has prevailed among Dutch manufacturers since April 2020.
| year | month | balance (average of the component questions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | September | 3.4 |
| 2016 | October | 4.3 |
| 2016 | November | 3.4 |
| 2016 | December | 4.7 |
| 2017 | January | 6 |
| 2017 | February | 7 |
| 2017 | March | 7.8 |
| 2017 | April | 8.3 |
| 2017 | May | 6.1 |
| 2017 | June | 7.2 |
| 2017 | July | 6.6 |
| 2017 | August | 5.4 |
| 2017 | September | 8.5 |
| 2017 | October | 8.2 |
| 2017 | November | 9.1 |
| 2017 | December | 8.9 |
| 2018 | January | 10.3 |
| 2018 | February | 10.9 |
| 2018 | March | 9.5 |
| 2018 | April | 8.2 |
| 2018 | May | 9.8 |
| 2018 | June | 7.7 |
| 2018 | July | 6.3 |
| 2018 | August | 5.9 |
| 2018 | September | 5.7 |
| 2018 | October | 5.9 |
| 2018 | November | 7.2 |
| 2018 | December | 7.5 |
| 2019 | January | 5.8 |
| 2019 | February | 6.3 |
| 2019 | March | 6.1 |
| 2019 | April | 6.7 |
| 2019 | May | 4.7 |
| 2019 | Juni | 3.3 |
| 2019 | Juli | 3.9 |
| 2019 | August | 3.9 |
| 2019 | September | 3.3 |
| 2019 | October | 3.6 |
| 2019 | November | 2.8 |
| 2019 | December | 2.9 |
| 2020 | January | 2.5 |
| 2020 | February | 3.7 |
| 2020 | March | 0.2 |
| 2020 | April | -28.7 |
| 2020 | May | -25.1 |
| 2020 | June | -15.1 |
| 2020 | July | -8.7 |
| 2020 | August | -5.4 |
Opinions on order position and stocks improving
Manufacturers are less negative about their order position and their stocks of finished products. However, opinions on future output have deteriorated slightly.
All component indicators are negative. Manufacturers who anticipate output to decrease over the next three months outnumber those expecting output to increase. More manufacturers consider their order position to be weak rather than strong, given the time of year. There are more manufacturers who define their current stocks of finished products as too large rather than too small.
Producers in timber and building materials industry most positive
Producers in the timber and building materials industry are the most positive. Producers in the textiles, clothes and leather industry and in the food, beverages and tobacco industry are positive as well. However, the confidence indicator is negative in the other industries. The most negative opinions are found among entrepreneurs in the metal industry.
| August 2020 (average of the component questions) | July 2020 (average of the component questions) | |
|---|---|---|
| Timber and building materials | 10.1 | 5.5 |
| Textiles, clothes, leather | 5.2 | -6.2 |
| Food, beverages, tobacco | 0.9 | -4.3 |
| Petroleum | -2.9 | -5.4 |
| Transport equipment | -6.1 | -5.6 |
| Electrotechnical products and machinery | -6.2 | -8.2 |
| Paper and printing | -7.9 | -1.8 |
| Metal | -9.8 | -20.4 |
Manufacturing output almost 10 percent down in June
In June 2020, the average daily output generated by the Dutch manufacturing industry was 9.7 percent down on June 2019. The year-on-year decrease is somewhat smaller than in the previous two months.
Confidence among German manufacturers also improving for fourth consecutive month
Germany is an important foreign market for the Dutch manufacturing industry. According to the Business Climate Index of the IFO Institute, in August producer confidence has improved for the fourth month in a row. Both opinions on future output and opinions on the current situation have improved. In June, the average daily output generated by the German industry contracted by over 14 percent year-on-year, as reported by Destatis. The decrease is considerably smaller than in the previous two months.
Sources
Related items
- Dossier - Business cycle