Industry survey by bvdm reveals difficult situation for businesses

The German printing and media industry is characterised by small and medium-sized enterprises with comparatively high energy requirements. The high electricity and gas prices are therefore an existential threat to the companies. Without prompt relief, insolvencies and business closures are imminent. This threatens not only jobs and apprenticeships, but also the entire print value chain and thus the supply of the country with basic products of critical infrastructure, such as packaging materials for the health and food sector, banknotes in the financial sector or even the printed press.

"Policymakers must act now and stand by their promises to support businesses as soon as possible. It will not help businesses if relief does not take effect until March 2023," demands bvdm CEO Dr Paul Albert Deimel. The bvdm considers the planned one-off payment in December to be insufficient. It also emphatically demands that the promised opening of the energy cost reduction programme for companies whose NACE classification is not represented on the KUEBLL list be realised. This would at least provide temporary relief and thus, in conjunction with an early introduction of the gas price brake, further mitigate the consequences of a relief gap.

Around 238 decision-makers from printing and media companies took part in the fifth bvdm industry survey - conducted in September 2022. This means that once again a number of participants were able to achieve meaningful results and thus provide a good insight into the current economic situation of the printing industry.