Germany Exports Shrink For The First Time Since 2008 Financial Crisis amid Global Economic Slowdown

German exports will shrink next year for the first time since the global financial crisis over a decade ago, the DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said on Wednesday, as trade disputes, Brexit, and a slowing global market uncertainty hit Europe's largest economy. DIHK said it expects Germany's annual export growth to wither to 0.3% this year from 2.1% in 2018, adding that exports are likely to shrink by 0.5% next year. In a further sign of economic trouble, German unemployment rose more than expected in October, separate data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that the manufacturing crisis is spilling over to the labor market and could slow consumer spending. DIHK's economic outlook is more pessimistic than the Federal Government. It said Germany's annual export growth would decline to 0.30% in 2019 from 2.1% in 2018. And for 2020, exports are to shrink by 0.50%, which would then tip it into contraction. Germany is the heart and soul of the EU economy, so if its economy goes to hell, the entire eurozone won't be far behind. Welcome to The Atlantis Report. Germany has experienced a usually long boom phase since 2006. Germany was the only highly developed country in the world that did not suffer much from the financial crisis of 2008 and has increased its productivity, production, GDP, and treasury significantly in the last ten years. However, no boom can last forever. The German business model is export-driven. In a world where some major powers try to halt globalization and introduce protectionist measures to their markets, the German model is not working as well as before. Therefore, it is actually no surprise that the German economy is slowing down. Just like China, Germans thought they could export forever while protecting their home market, so they never bothered to develop a balanced domestic market. Some of Germany's export markets are running out of the money to spend frivolously and creditors to borrow from. Any exporting economy will be hurt by a downturn in the export markets, apparently through no fault of their own. And certainly, the typical European welfare attitude (which is very much present in Germany, only somewhat compensated for by their skill and work ethics) does not help here. When the government of one of the top manufacturing nations bans work emails after 6 pm (hoping that it will counter a slowing economy), that just means some people take prosperity for granted. I live in Singapore and Germany. The difference in work culture (at least at the consumer ends) is evident in so many ways. In Singapore, there are some shops that are open 24x7 to serve customers who have time constraints. The supermarket in my block does not close at the weekend. That means it opens each Friday morning and closes on Monday night. Feel like having a beer on a Sunday night, but the fridge is empty! No problem! Contrast that to Germany where it is just the opposite-the supermarkets are closed from Friday evening to Monday noon (which means serious inconvenience for shoppers who cannot manage time on the weekdays). Even on weekdays, they close at 8 pm, when I thought at least 11 pm is the standard. I talked to some people, and they said it is the government rule, and if the supermarkets want to remain open, they have to comply with a hell lot of extra regulations and some tax. Do not get me wrong. Germany is a wonderful country with wonderful people, but with the medieval welfare policies, it is no wonder that the European economy is sliding into oblivion. And obviously, Germany cannot isolate itself from the bigger European picture. The reasons for Germany's economic slowdown are ironically its economic strengths. Both are (not mutually exclusive) : car manufacturing, especially high-end diesel-powered cars export power (cars, machines) So, this hegemonic aspect is a real weakness: If your cars are diesel-powered, you add your own interpretation of the norms, and you hoped that the government would greenlight a similar approach with new WLTP norms, If your Chinese customers, the fastest growing market in the last years, reduce their amount of luxury spending (like iPhones or Mercedes). If your trade partners are destroying years of common wisdom (Donald Trump's trade wars, Brexit, sanction on Russia)… you end up with a slower economy in the short term. And then, comes the long-term evolution: You have low demography leading to an aging and shrinking population. Hence, the consumption of your population can not compensate the losses from your exporting industry . Germany is very strong in the 20th Century industry (cars, manufacturing equipment). You might have the best quality, the best performance, but also the highest price. And sometimes you have over-quality (a level of quality your customer is not willing to pay for) and over-complexity (have you seen a Siemens-automation console?) The German auto quality is now officially a myth. Another reason why the German exports are tumbling is that the German brands making the same stupid mistake that America did 20-30 years ago by making their products in Mexico or Asia and only designing or assembling them in Germany, but still wanting full German prices so the execs can pocket the difference and sail off ton their yacht in Monaco. Right around the turn of the millennia, they introduced a budget line made in Asia in order to gain market share in the entry and low/mid-level markets, which is where 80%+ of the money is. Fair enough and no problem, companies have to try to make money, or they're just charity daycares handing out paychecks and eventually going belly up. Volkswagen has done a similar thing with their Mexican and Chattanooga plants - a German brand name sticky taped to a not-so-great third world import but at full German prices. It takes a while, but even Americans do eventually notice when they're getting hosed. Recent Mercedes are overpriced plastic compared to a bulletproof 300D from the 80s. Bayer AG, t those idiots bought Monsanto. It seems that playing along with the PC Globalist Diversity crowd leads to some really stupid decisions, and outsourcing production to third world shitholes has consequences if you try to keep selling at German prices. And when the customer can't tell between the confusing array of product lines and 19 of 20 items they see are the cheap imported crap from a third world hellhole, they're going to assume all of them are the cheap crap even if they're looking at a really good one from Germany. Why buy the expensive German one when you can get "the same thing" for a tenth of the price? That's my theory, anyway. Germany is going down the drain. No matter how much a central bank provides easy monetary policies if the fiscal policies plus increased regulations are moving in the opposite direction you end up with slower growth, and this is what we have seen for the last 10 years across all the western-based economies, and this is why GDP numbers are not where they were pre 2008/9. The GREEN push with increased regulations, increased taxes, forcing industry to use wind and solar, increased auto emission regulations which raises costs hitting especially the smaller car markets as cost cannot be passed on, shutting down nuclear plants in Germany which forced them 3 times a few months back to buy more expensive electricity from outside the country as they ran out, etc. its a wonder they have any growth at all.








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