Report on Economic Position

Economic Environment

Global Economy

In fiscal 2022, the Russian war against Ukraine fundamentally changed the geopolitical landscape and had an impact on the global economy. The conflict led to a massive increase in prices for sources of energy and certain raw materials, higher inflation, as well as slower global economic growth. Moreover, China’s zero-COVID policy, which the country pursued until the beginning of December, and the resulting lockdowns slowed down regional and global economic performance in the year 2022. In contrast with significant growth in the previous year, the global economy expanded at a rate of 3.1% in the reporting year, with all regions recording positive growth rates.

Main Customer Industries

At 6.9%, the global automotive industry grew faster in fiscal 2022 than in the previous year. Order backlogs protected this industry from the downturn in the reporting year. The APAC and NA regions recorded significant positive growth, while growth in the EMLA region was slightly positive.

In the year 2022, the global construction industry saw a lower growth rate of 1.2% compared with the previous year. Deceleration in economic growth in all three regions, rising interest rates, as well as the high cost of construction materials and labor shortages had a negative impact on the construction industry in the reporting year, but growth was slightly positive in all regions.

The 4.9% growth rate in the global electrical, electronics, and household appliances industry in fiscal year 2022 was well down on the previous year’s level. Due to shifts in consumer spending from goods to services, there was weak demand for electronics and electrical components in fiscal 2022 compared with the previous year. The NA and APAC regions recorded significant growth in the year 2022. Due to the worldwide drop in consumer demand in the sector, growth in the APAC region, a global production hub, was slower than in the previous year. The EMLA region’s growth was slightly positive.

The global furniture industry experienced negative growth of 3.6% compared with significant positive growth in the previous year. High inflation, rising selling prices, a slowdown in consumer demand, and lower investments in the housing sector led to a significant year-over-year downturn in demand for furniture in all regions in fiscal 2022.