Auto parts? Machinery? Or also print? In the first year of the crisis, Salzburg’s production companies suffered a lot – lower demand and exports resulted in a 5.8 percent decline in the production of goods. “We definitely see a strong east-west divide,” reports economist Julia Bachtrögler-Unger of the “Krone”.
The first Corona year also left deep marks in the Salzburg companies, as figures from the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) now show. In 2020, sales of material goods fell by 5.8 percent.
Salzburg’s mechanical engineering companies in particular recorded a sharp decline of 21.2 percent, while the automotive suppliers recorded losses of 28.6 percent. “Less demand and exports were decisive for these developments,” says WIFO economist Julia Bachtrögler-Unger of the “Krone”.
Farms suffered particularly in the first half of the year. With its values, Salzburg is in the middle: In Lower Austria the decline was 13.6 percent, in Styria the value was minus 12.8 percent. Only Vienna recorded an increase of 6.8 percent – the reason for this are large orders to a local company. How quickly the Salzburg economy will recover from the Corona cuts remains to be seen.
Researchers expect the first recovery this year
The WIFO researchers assume that the situation will improve overall this year: nationwide, gross value added in the production of goods is expected to rise again by 9.2 percent in 2021.
VS