While businesses´ profits are still stable and financials mainly solid, environmental issues pose a potential major challenge for agriculture and food.
The ongoing concentration process in the domestic market will increasingly put small retailers with a poor capacity to generate cash flow under pressure.
A modest margin rebound, but commodity prices, price wars between retailers, changing consumer habits and difficulties in staff recruitment remain issues.
Domestic metals and steel demand is increasingly affected by subdued investment in the construction sector and a marked demand slowdown from automotive.
The number of protracted payments and insolvencies was high in 2019, and is expected to increase further in 2020, mainly affecting private-owned producers.
For many businesses both demand and profit margins are expected to deteriorate further, with a moderate rebound expected in H2 of 2020 at the earliest.
The sector benefits from the lift of US import tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, with profit margins of steel businesses expected to improve again.
Demand for metals and steel is currently impacted by the slowdown in demand from automotive and reduced investment from other manufacturing industries.
Due to a high level of non-performing assets in the sector banks are now unwilling to provide credit to the industry, causing additional liquidity issues.
Lower demand coupled with decreasing sales prices and higher prices for iron ore have led to deteriorating margins of steel producers and distributors.
Competitive price pressure has led to deteriorationg profit margins for steel producers as well as steel and metals distributors over the past 12 months.
Ireland’s highly open economy is cooling off and demand in export markets is set to remain weak while the domestic economy faces increasing capacity constraints and lower government spending.
In Italy, business insolvencies are expected to increase in 2019, by about 4%. This is due to economic stagnation, increased political uncertainty and tighter credit conditions.
GDP growth in the Netherlands is expected to slow to 1.7% in 2019. After several years of sharp decreases in insolvencies, this year is likely to mark a turning point.
As economic growth decelerates, and the manufacturing sector struggles amid lower global trade, Western Europe expects to close the year with a 2.7% increase in insolvencies.
Insolvencies are rising, and structural weaknesses and the negative impact of sanctions on productivity and investment weigh on the economic expansion.
The economy is highly integrated into international value chains, making it vulnerable to major foreign trade losses, especially in the automotive sector.
As the economy is reliant on automotive-related exports to the Eurozone, especially to Germany, it is vulnerable to adverse developments in the industry.
The currency is subject to some volatility, and the country is vulnerable to capital outflows should there be adverse internal or external developments.
Political instability remains an issue for the long-term economic growth prospects, while corruption and red tape still hamper the business environment.
Despite ongoing growth, there are challenges ahead, as profit margins of businesses decreased in 2017 and H1 of 2018 due to sharply increased input costs.
Many producers are under pressure to either expand/grow or refuse orders, while difficulties in hiring skilled staff impacts further business expansion.
As in previous years, competition remains strong in the domestic market, mainly among small and medium-sized machinery companies depending on construction.
A modest insolvency increase is expected in 2019, with businesses related to oil and gas exploration, construction and agricultural markets mainly exposed.
Business performance and profit margins of machinery traders could be negatively affected by the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States.
