Danish industries currently see a lack of demand as the greatest factor holding back production, according to a new economic barometer from Statistics Denmark, published on Wednesday.
In the survey, 35 percent of industries said their production is limited by a lack of demand. Meanwhile, 24 percent said it is held back by a lack of materials or equipment.
A lower number of 12 percent said that a lack of labour is preventing them from producing more.
Last year, a survey of 734 member organisations conducted by the Danish Chamber of Commerce concluded that the businesses missed out on 31 billion kroner in potential revenues in two months because of a shortage of labour.
The companies in that survey were based in sectors including trade, service and IT. Wednesday’s economic barometer relates to industrial production.
Senior economic analyst with Arbejdernes Landsbank, Jeppe Juul Borre, said that the overall picture from the barometer was a positive one for businesses, despite a lack of demand appearing to concern them.
“The worst concerns in a time with huge cost strains in production and increasing interest rates have cooled off,” he said in a comment to news wire Ritzau.
An indicator of optimism in construction and industry fell slightly between June and July, the Statistics Denmark barometer showed.
“The very small drop in business confidence should not be any cause for great concern. Over the last year and a half, this measure has moved in the right direction and was at its highest for 26 months just a month ago,” Borre said.
The senior economist with Sydbank, Mathias Dollerup, said the indicator showed cautious optimism in the sector.
“Danish and international economy has been plagued by steep price increases and interest rate increases, but the tide is turning. Interest rates are being carefully lowered and inflation is gradually coming under control in most countries,” he said.
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