Study: Dilapidated infrastructure hampers the economy

Infrastructure deficiencies are affecting the business activities of a good 84 percent of companies, according to a survey conducted by the German Economic Institute.

The Infrastructure was long considered a location advantage for German companies. Today, many Businesses but as Problem. This is shown by a new Survey by the German Economic Institute (IW). Since 2013, the IW has regularly asked companies whether their work is hindered by the infrastructure. Never were the answers so criticalLess than 16% of companies reported no problems, compared to over 40% the first time around.

Traffic is a major concern

The situation was particularly bad transport infrastructure In the current survey, 92 percent of the affected and 77 percent of all participating companies stated that their business activities had been affected by Defects of the roads Compared to the 2022 survey, the assessment of the Rail transport worsened. Around 60% of companies reported that they regularly experience difficulties with the railway. 

The way food is Communication networks perform poorlyDespite numerous government subsidies, more than 60% of the businesses surveyed complained about problems with their internet and mobile communications. At the beginning of the year, there was hope for improvements through new subsidies and programs. However, this confidence has diminished significantly.

The deterioration can be observed across all company sizes, with a fall of around 7 percentage points for small businesses most affected .

At the beginning of the year, the creation of the "Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality" with 500 billion euros gave hope that the infrastructure situation would improve sustainably. This hope has since been noticeably dashed. The new federal budget will allocate many funds for Consumption instead of investment used. In addition missing in authorities and construction companies Capacities, to implement projects.

Full text of the survey Here you can download > the complete study for freeDHB now also digital!Simply click here and register for the digital Handwerksblatt (DHB)!