German export boom loses steam

摘要

The outlook for German deepsea exports of unitised general cargo flattened this year because of slower growth in key markets and substitution of imports by local production in China. Developments in the chemicals, machinery and automotive industries, which account for most of the loaded export containers in the country, showed mixed results in 1H13 with only marginal growth expected for the full year. Overall chemicals production (measured in volume) in the first half was unchanged compared with the corresponding period last year, while shipments to overseas destinations saw a noticeable decline, according to latest statistics by the Federation of the Chemical Industries (VCI) in Frankfurt. Its export data only shows sales volumes, not freight tonnes, but considering the relative stability in prices and continuity in the products mix, there is no escaping the fact that deepsea shipping volumes have been under extreme pressure.