The number of insolvent companies in Germany continues to grow rapidly. In November this year, the Federal Statistical Office noted: by 12.6 percent more reported bankruptcy proceedings than a year earlier. Except for June this year. as of June 2023, the growth rate is double-digit.
These industries have it the hardest
It remains an open question whether all these cases of insolvency proceedings before the courts will be included in official statistics. However, also in the case of already initiated proceedings, the trend is clearly growing. From the first to the third quarter of 2024, district courts reported 16,222 cases of corporate bankruptcy. It was by 22.2 percent. more than in the same period last year – according to calculations by the statistical office.
The transport, warehousing, construction and catering industries are particularly affected. The last time more company bankruptcies in a nine-month period occurred in Germany was in 2016, with 16,480 companies affected.
Growth expected next year
The wave of insolvencies will probably increase in 2025, and a record will be broken this year, experts expect. Credit agency Creditreform predicts 22,400 company bankruptcies by the end of this year. This would be the highest level since 2015. In turn, next year the number of insolvent companies may reach the peak from the crisis year of 2009, when over 32,000 were recorded. cases.
The list of problems for entrepreneurs is long: high costs energy, supply chain problems, trade conflicts, excessive bureaucracy and political uncertainty, lower consumer spending. In addition, special regulations that the state used to try to prevent a wave of bankruptcies during the coronavirus pandemic are no longer in force.