Producer confidence slightly up

Producer confidence has exceeded the long-term average of 1.2 for years. It reached an all-time high (12.7) in November 2021 and an all-time low (-28.7) in April 2020.

More positive about future output

Manufacturers are more positive about future output and also less negative about their current stocks of finished products. Their opinion about order positions have hardly changed.

Two component indicators of producer confidence are positive. The majority of manufacturers consider their order position to be strong rather than weak, given the time of year. Furthermore, manufacturers anticipating output to increase over the next three months outnumber those expecting a decrease.

However, there was one negative component indicator: more manufacturers define their current stocks of finished products as too large rather than too small.

Confidence down in over half of industries

In more than half of the most important industrial industries, producer confidence has deteriorated in March. However, confidence has improved in the larger industries such as the food, beverages and tobacco industry, and the electrotechnical and machinery industry. Just as in the previous months, producer confidence is highest in the electrotechnical and machinery industry.

Manufacturing output down in January

In January 2023, the average daily output of the Dutch manufacturing industry was 2.9 percent lower than in January 2022. This is the first decline in almost two years.

Producer confidence in Germany improving further

Germany is an important market for the Dutch manufacturing industry. In March, German entrepreneurs again showed improved confidence, according to the Business Climate Index of the IFO Institute. They were less negative about their future situation and more positive about the current situation. The average daily output generated by the German manufacturing industry was down by 0.9 percent year on year in January, as reported by Destatis.