Chemical Industry Radar
Browse all past editions of the monthly industry analysis. Each edition captures the sentiment, developments, and outlook of the German chemical sector.
2026
July 2026
Corporate Rebound, Location Erosion
Earnings relief was real; a German chemical recovery was not. Corporate results improved while output, investment, employment, and location economics remained structurally weak.
June 2026
Hope Returned, but Mostly Through Scarcity
Chemical sentiment improved as import pressure eased and energy prices softened, while Evonik cut 3,200 more jobs and Merck pursued an $11.3 billion science-tools acquisition.
May 2026
A Special Cycle Hid the Structural One
Precautionary orders and cost savings lifted selected results, while VCI data, collapsing expectations, and 1,600 German Wacker job reductions denied the recovery thesis.
April 2026
Policy Relief Met a Three-Year Low
EU approval of Germany's industrial electricity subsidy improved the policy path, but chemical sentiment, materials availability, and demand expectations deteriorated further.
March 2026
The Energy Shock Returned
War-driven energy and feedstock inflation turned a weak chemical cycle into a renewed location crisis, while job cuts and delayed wages made the adjustment explicit.
February 2026
A Better Tape, but No Industrial Turn
German chemical shares recovered in February, but closures, cost migration, and the final-day energy shock exposed how little the operating model had improved.
January 2026
January 2026 marks a "cautious repositioning" rather than a broad-based recovery. The planned 5-cent industrial electricity instrument, the BASF Ludwigshafen site agreement, and the KSpTG carbon storage framework provided a policy path, but the electricity aid was not yet operational. The ifo Business Climate improved marginally to -23.5 points while the current business situation deteriorated sharply to -34.9 points.
2025
December 2025
December 2025 marks the moment the "structural fracture" transitioned from a risk forecast to operational reality. The VCI Annual Balance confirms the crisis: chemical production down 2.5%, capacity utilization at historic low of 70%, and 10% of companies planning to close entire sites. The ADNOC-Covestro takeover (81.77% acceptance) signals the transfer of German industrial assets to sovereign wealth.
November 2025
The mood in the German chemical industry has shifted from chronic concern to acute existential alarm. The VCI warns of a "knock-out" phase for domestic production. Massive layoffs at Wacker (1,500) and Bayer (12,000), the Covestro acquisition by ADNOC, and persistently high energy costs define the month.
October 2025
October 2025 stands as a definitive inflection point—the transition from cyclical downturn to permanent structural recalibration. The ADNOC-Covestro finalization, BASF's Carlyle divestiture, and the damning Hydrogen Strategy audit define the "Month of Structural Realization."