"In October, more than one in three companies (36.6%, up from 24.7% in July) reported a decline in their competitiveness compared to countries outside the EU. That’s more than ever before in the ifo surveys," ifo said in a statement.
At the same time, the share of the German companies facing a decline in competitiveness within the EU increased from 12% to 21.5%, reaching the highest level since the surveys began, the study said.
"German industry’s competitiveness is at a new low ... This shows how strong the impact of the structural problems has now become," the head of the Ifo research department, Klaus Wohlrabe, was quoted as saying.
The competitiveness of German industrial companies declined in all sectors. Over 50% of the companies reported a decrease in competitiveness in the chemical industry. A similar situation is observed in the production of electronic and optical products, where 47% of companies said that they face a drop in competitiveness. In mechanical engineering, this figure reached about 40%, ifo said.
According to Wohlrabe, Germany risks falling further "behind in international comparison" if no massive reforms on the issue are implemented.