The Czech industrial sector’s output fell by one-third in the month of April, far worse than was expected by most analysts. Hospodářské noviny writes that the impact of closing of the country’s borders to halt the spread of Covid-19 was like nothing ever experienced in the country’s history. While the state of emergency has ended and the borders have opened, companies themselves are only beginning to return to life. The Association of Industry and Transport told the daily that four in ten companies are expecting such severe losses that they could find themselves in danger of collapse. It said that many companies won’t survive without further state support. The association’s director of economic policy Bohuslav Čížek said “the key thing is whether support in the states whose sectors were hit will be enough to be felt by their Czech suppliers.” Hardest hit has been the automobile industry, which accounts for 9 percent of Czech GDP and 25 percent of all industrial output. Domestic orders fell 42 percent in April, while orders from other countries were 50 percent down.
