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German exports boosted by eurozone upswing

January 9, 2018

German shipments abroad have picked up considerably, fresh figures from the National Statistics Office have shown. Companies profited from an uptick in economic activity in the eurozone and elsewhere.

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Hamburg container port
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Charisius

Statistics agency Destatis reported Tuesday that German exports in November increased by 4.1 percent month on month, by far exceeding analysts' expectations.

"It was the strongest surge in three years," the office said in a statement.

All in all, German companies exported goods worth €116.5 billion ($139 billion). Shipments to fellow eurozone countries experienced the biggest increase (+9.1 percent), with exports to the larger European Union rising by 8 percent and those to the rest of the world up 8.4 percent in November.

Not enough pallets

"Full order books and a high level of business confidence point to favorable cyclical developments in the months ahead," the German Economics Ministry said in a statement.

A large number of companies are already in the process of enlarging their production capacities. "Four out of 10 industrial firms are putting more money aside for new machinery," said Sophia Krietenbrink from the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

Recent reports in the German media have highlighted the current shortage of pallets for the transport of goods nationally and across borders as a sign of a booming economy. The reports stated that many companies had had to delay the shipment of their goods due to the shortfall.

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hg/jd (Reuters, AFP)