German Perspective - 27.09.11
What happened this week: This week was pretty quiet. This is nothing unusual for a September week, as usually the summer break for raw materials ends at the end of September and not at the end of August. Normally, tanners are still stocked for the start up phase after the summer holidays and they wait with their new and active purchasing activity until October, trying to catch up with their clients first and awaiting the results of the large number of fairs taking place in September. The high uncertainty due to the situation on the financial markets and the ongoing troubles with the European debt crisis is still weighing on the hide market – at least on the mood of the tanners. Only the German automotive sector remains entirely positive with budgets for 2012 being impressive double digit numbers; higher than levels of 2011.
