Chemical Industry/Pharmaceuticals

As one of the mainstays of the German economy, the chemical industry is currently facing major challenges. While the business year of 2008 began on a promising note for the entire sector, the worldwide financial crisis means that many of these earlier assumptions will have to be rethought.

Forecasts have been revised at most companies in the petrochemical industry as well as at a majority of specialty chemicals producers, while the pharmaceutical, agro- and industrial gas producers are still offering a hopeful perspective. The pharmaceutical industry can be expected to come through the crisis virtually unscathed. The other fields of the chemical industry will have to endure a stronger or weaker impact, depending on their product range.

In all of this, the chemical industry is not only subject to losses in its client industries, but also to the highly volatile commodity prices, the storage policies of its main clients and the expansion of petrochemical facilities in the Middle East.

Remedies for this situation are anticipated in the move away from bulk chemicals towards more emphasis on specialty products. This is particularly true for pharmaceutical companies, which are turning more and more towards bespoke, patient-specific medication and are expecting crucial impulses to come, above all, from biotechnology.

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