The general economic downturn impacted many sectors, the glass industry included, in 2023. Although business development remained positive in terms of production output and revenue during the crises of recent years, the effects of those crises ultimately manifested in 2023, when total production tonnage fell by 13.1% and revenue declined by 3.1%.
Revenue shrinkage was relatively evenly split between domestic revenue, which declined by 3.7 percent to EUR 7.30 billion (2022: EUR 7.58 billion) and foreign revenue, which fell 2.2 percent to EUR 4.98 EUR (2022: EUR 5.09 billion). The number of employees in the glass industry remained constant at approximately 55,000.
In the following you will find an overview of:
- Foreign trade in glassware
- Exports
- Imports
- 2022 versus 2023 sector comparison
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Foreign trade in glassware includes both the international sales of the glass industry as well as the international sales of glass distributors without manufacturing operations. German export figures therefore represent the international revenue of the glass industry and the international revenue of the glass distributors collectively. Around two-thirds (64.7 percent) of German glass exports in 2023 went to European Union countries and, vice-versa, more than half (59.9 percent) of EU exports came to Germany. Some of the sectors in the glass industry make a substantially higher contribution to exports and imports.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
The export value of glassware remained on a similar level to the previous year at EUR 8.76 billion. The contribution to total exports by glass trading companies was 43.2 percent (2022: 41.9 percent), and the total export value was EUR 3.79 billion (2022: EUR 3.67 billion). The total export quota[1] increased slightly to 54.6 percent (2022: 53.6 percent).
The German glass manufacturing and glass retail industries’ net exports (the difference between imports and exports) was EUR 1.84 billion in 2023, which is 1.5 percent lower than the 2022 figure (EUR 1.86 billion). Key markets in addition to the EU were Asia (11.3 percent) and the USA (9.6 percent). The most important export country in terms of its share of total exports is France (12.4 percent), followed by the Netherlands (8.7 percent), the USA (7.8 percent), Austria (6.0 percent), Switzerland (5.9 percent), Italy (5.9 percent), Belgium (5.6 percent) and Poland (5.3 percent).
[1] The export quota has been redefined since the pre-2010 BV Glas annual reports.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
The import value rose to EUR 6.93 billion in 2023, which is 0.5 percent higher than in 2022 (EUR 6.90 billion). The total import quota was 48.7 percent (2023: 47.6 percent). For the 15th time in succession the biggest importer was China, with a 14.7 percent share of imports. Poland was in second place again in 2023 (10.7 percent), followed by the USA (9.7 percent), the Czech Republic (9.3 percent), France (7.4 percent) and Belgium (6.9 percent). In addition to imports from the EU, a significant volume of imports came from Asia (22.1 percent) and America (10.3 percent) in 2023. The share of imports from Asia declined significantly compared to the previous year (down 16.0 percent). However, imports from the EU and the USA rose by 9.4 and 8.0 percent respectively.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
Please click on the table to download the pdf file.
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