Lack of orders weighs on German economy – Ifo

BERLIN (Reuters) – The lack of orders in manufacturing is increasingly becoming a burden on the German economy, the Ifo Institute said on Monday.

In January, 36.9% of manufacturing companies reported a lack of orders, up from 36.0% in October, according to Ifo’s surveys. A year ago, the proportion was just 20.9%.

“The lack of orders has worsened noticeably over the past year. Hardly an industry has been spared,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo. “What’s more, order backlogs are shrinking.”

In the service sector, 32.1% of the companies reported a lack of orders in January.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Rachel More)