Publications

Demand for Belgian machines and engineering businesses is still affected by the difficulties some major buyer industries are facing (e.g. construction).

The machinery sector mainly suffers from a massive decrease in public and private investments, especially in the construction and oil/gas sectors.

Payment behaviour has been good over the last two years and the number of payment delays, defaults and insolvencies is expected to remain low in 2016.

The Swedish machinery industry has shown several years of positive development. Machinery production is expected to grow 2.3% in 2016 and 0.9% in 2017.

US machinery businesses related to the oil/gas or the mining segments are affected by lower capital spending on purchasing machinery and equipment.

The French chemicals sector continues to grow in 2016, but high labour costs and strict regualtions remain a burden and global competition is strong.

Lower GDP growth of 2.5% in 2016 and government budget hit by lower oil price. Public spending is curbed in order to trim the high budget deficit.

Weak economic situation and uncertain outlook as the security situation remains tense. Inflation is high and the business sentiment remains subdued.

A modest economic rebound expected in 2016, but fiscal consolidation remains difficult. Jordan remains heavily dependent on foreign donors support.

In 2016 economic growth will decrease to 3% due to less agriculture output and decreasing exports. In 2017 GDP is expected to rebound again, growing 4.5%.

The economy still has room to absorb the oil price slump, but a long-term period of low oil prices would hurt. Economic diversification is on the agenda.

A moderate economic rebound is expected in 2016 and 2017, given that the domestic security situation will not again hurt tourism and business sentiment.

As the oil price decrease has a negative impact on government revenues and lending conditions, many businesses face liquidity issues and payment delays.

The economy in Eastern Europe is forecast to continue growing 1.1% this year. However, trade credit risk from foreign late payment is on the rise.

Poor payment practices of B2B customers caused financial distress on businesses in Western Europe and a ripple effect throughout the whole supply chain.

Survey findings point to Great Britain as the country in Western Europe that is the most impacted by late payment from export customers.

Insolvencies are forecast to fall only 3% across advanced markets in 2016, the worst performance since 2012.

Business insolvencies expected to increase 6% in 2016 as the slump in the mining sector continues.

Economic growth forecast to slow down to 6.3% in 2016, but no hard landing expected for the time being.

Robust growth, but high levels of corporate debt. The pace of structural reforms remains too slow.

Slow pace of economic recovery, with GDP expected to grow 1% in 2016, and inflation remaining stubbornly low.

Lower growth in 2016 (up 4.4%), but robust economic fundamentals remain.

GDP expected to grow above 5% in 2016 due to robust private consumption, but the business environment remains difficult.

Economic performance impacted by slower growth in China and Southeast Asia.

High household indebtedness weighs on private consumption, and exports are affected by the slowdown in China.

Productivity increases and economic diversification are the main long-term challenges.

GDP growth in 2016 (up 2.5%) still below the country´s growth potential, and political uncertainty remains an issue.

Atradius picks the top 8 markets for business opportunities in 2016. These emerging markets have been showing strong performances over the past three years and are expected to improve further in 2016.

The first increase in US interest rates in almost 10 years may lead to trouble in emerging markets.

Food exports grew 2.1% in 2014 and are expected to increase further in 2015.

The French food industry has benefited from falling raw material prices and a weaker euro, which helped boost competitiveness abroad.

Due to the weaker exchange rate and increased demand from overseas markets, Dutch food exports increased in 2015 and are expected to rise further in 2016.

Italian profit margins have decreased in 2015 but are expected to remain stable in 2016.

In 2015, Polish food exports are expected to reach a historical peak.

Profitability of food producers has increased in 2014 and is expected to remain stable in 2015.

The Irish food sector has benefited from the weaker euro, the rebound of the Irish economy and growing consumer confidence.

Prices for food have grown and local production has increased in order to subsitute lacking imports.

The average payment duration in the Spanish food industry is 70 days.

Food business insolvencies are expected to increase by about 15% in 2015.

Profit margins of food businesses in the United States are expected to remain stable in 2016.

Natural gas prices have fallen significantly in Asia and Europe on the back of the sliding oil price. As more LNG comes on the market regional prices are set to remain low.

Robust growth rates persist, but lower exports hurt the manufacturing sector.

Crucial reforms have been passed, but their proper implementation remains to be seen.

Growth is expected to slow down, while business insolvencies to increase in 2015 and 2016.

Nearly half of the respondents in Australia said that the risk of payment delay and default from B2B buyers has increased over the past six months. One in five respondents rated it as “significant”.

62.0% of the businesses surveyed in China (compared to 46.3% in Asia Pacific) reported that domestic B2B customers have slowed invoice payment due to liquidity problems over the past year.

92.1% of respondents in Hong Kong (compared to 90.2% of respondents in Asia Pacific) reported having experienced invoice late payment from their B2B customers over the past year.

Russia remains an important market in the global economy. The ten principles of the report are meant to help businesses mitigate risks when exporting to Russia.

A major strength of the British car manufacturing industry is its diversity, with a mix of volume, premium and specialist producers.

Thanks to the strong recovery seen since H2 of 2014 many of Italy’s car suppliers have registered increasing profit margins and an improvement of their financial strength.