Producer prices for services in Germany rose by 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, prices increased by 1.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. This rise is largely attributed to adjustments made at the beginning of 2026 to cover increased operational costs, such as those related to energy, staffing, and materials.
The significant increase in energy costs, following the Iran conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, had not yet appeared in the transport and storage sector during Q1 2026, as the first two months of the quarter were unaffected by the conflict. In the transport and storage sector, overall prices only rose slightly by 0.9 percent year-over-year. However, prices related to storage and corresponding services rose markedly by 3.2 percent, which companies cited as being driven by higher energy and labor costs. Similarly, road freight transportation prices increased significantly by 2.8 percent year-over-year, though only 1.5 percent compared to Q4 2025. Conversely, prices for goods carried by sea and along the coast dropped by 9.1 percent compared to Q1 2025 due to overcapacity in the deep-sea shipping sector, which consequently led to a 12.1 percent drop in sea freight services year-over-year. Overall, the transport and forwarding services sector experienced a slight price decrease of 0.7 percent year-over-year.
In the information and communication sector, prices increased by 1.8 percent compared to the previous year. Prices for wired telecommunications were up 1.6 percent year-over-year, while wireless telecommunications saw a slightly smaller increase of 1.0 percent. Software and software licenses saw a 1.3 percent rise compared to Q1 2025, and IT consulting and support prices rose by 0.9 percent.
The real estate and housing sector experienced a relatively strong increase of 2.5 percent year-over-year. Rents for residential and commercial properties rose by 1.8 percent. The sharpest increase was in real estate brokerage and management, rising by 4.3 percent, following an uptrend in residential property prices since mid-2024. Companies attributed this growth to generally increased costs, higher administrative effort, or contractually agreed price adjustments linked to specific price indices.
In the freelance, scientific, and technical services sector, prices rose by 2.6 percent compared to Q1 2025. The strongest growths were seen in accounting services (+6.2 percent) and legal services (+4.2 percent). The increase in legal services was partly caused by new compensation regulations implemented in mid-2025 that introduced higher fees for legal and tax advising. Companies also pointed to general price hikes at the start of the year in response to increased general costs and wages. Prices for technical, physical, and chemical examination services rose by 2.6 percent year-over-year, with companies citing cost adjustments-related to energy, personnel, and material-as a primary reason.
Among all economic sectors within services, administrative and support services saw the largest overall price increase at 3.5 percent year-over-year. Cleaning services specifically surged by an above-average 3.8 percent, mainly due to increased collective bargaining wages at the start of the year. Prices for temporary staffing increased by 3.1 percent year-over-year. Destatis noted that both increased collective bargaining wages and higher operating costs have frequently cited as reasons for this growth.
