The ifo Business Survey in the Manufacturing Industry

The manufacturing industry is the economic sector that sets the pace for economic activity in Germany and, therefore, is one of the main drivers for the business cycle. Thus, information about current developments in this sector is valuable for business cycle analysis. The ifo Institute started its survey activity with this sector and introduced the monthly ifo Business Survey in the manufacturing industry in 1949.

Initially it only covered a few industrial sectors, such as mechanical engineering and manufacturing of motor vehicles. In 1968, the chemical industry, manufacturing of iron and steel, mineral oil processing, and non-ferrous metal industries were added. Over the years, the food and beverage industry and all other subdivisions of the manufacturing industry were added to the survey, so that it now covers the whole sector.

Sufficiently high numbers of participants made it possible to publish results not only for Germany but also for some federal states as a subset of the survey. In 1979, Bavaria was the first of these federal states to have its results published, followed by Baden-Wurttemberg in 1996. After the reunification of Germany, the new federal states were also included in the survey. Therefore, since 1991, the results of the survey have referred to Germany as a whole.