Reduced output from late March to May during the spring months of this year in the automotive sector may spur greater activity than normal from Czech manufacturers during the summer months, but the gradual resumption of production suggests that it will take at least a year to complete the recovery. Those are the findings of a new study by Colliers International which looks in detail into the relative importance of specific months to EMEA’s manufacturing sector. The report warns that the impact of a second outbreak of Covid-19 during the fall could have even more serious repercussions because the months of October and November are crucial.
Producers are now returning to work, but often at reduced levels of output due to lack of demand or out of concern for the safety of their employees. “It is clear that restarting operations gradually in the subsequent months will mean the full recovery of lost business will take a fairly long period of time (at least a year, if IMF economic growth forecasts become reality),” says Kevin Turpin, Regional Director of Research, CEE.
Harry Bannatyne, Head of Industrial Agency, says that in the Czech Republic, October and November are the busiest months, which means the possibility of a second spike in the coronavirus outbreak in autumn is a major risk factor for industrial and logistics activity. For the moment, however, he says “the industrial and logistics sector proved to be the least affected one, more resilient and versatile than the retail or the office sectors. The automotive sector has slowed down, the e-commerce sped up and we are still witnessing high demand and no significant changes in rent.”
