Forsa, in cooperation with FTI Andersch, has released a survey detailing production relocation trends within the mid-sized enterprise sector. The survey indicates that 15% of industrial companies are either relocating production sites or planning to do so, a figure that rises significantly to 31% for companies with annual revenues exceeding 100 million euros.
Christian Säuberlich, head of FTI, commented to the newspaper that entrepreneurs are no longer waiting for the regulatory environment to change. The survey targeted 150 CEOs from key sectors, including the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, and energy-intensive fields such as chemical production.
Looking ahead, two-thirds of the surveyed companies intend to invest in expanding their production capacity, and one in every two plans to integrate industrial Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, whether this expansion will take place within Germany remains uncertain. The survey also revealed that 21% of the examined companies plan to scale down capacity within Germany, while 11% are planning to close complete production facilities.
These results contrast sharply with the previous year. Last year, 63% of respondents had held back investments due to high geopolitical uncertainty and challenging conditions, and approximately 50% were expecting an improved business outlook. Currently, the expected improvement has dropped to just 26%. Furthermore, a majority of respondents (65%) currently anticipate a stable business situation and are nevertheless moving forward with their investments, according to the findings published by the Handelsblatt.
