Report on Economic Position

Economic Environment

Global Economy

As a whole, 2021 saw a new record high in worldwide economic output, although the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was still evident in some segments of the global economy. In contrast with a weaker year in 2020, the global economy expanded at a rate of 5.6% in the year 2021, with all regions recording strongly positive growth rates.

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Economic environment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growth1 2020

 

Growth1 2021

 

 

%

 

%

World

 

–3.5

 

+5.6

Europe, Middle East, Latin America2, Africa (EMLA)

 

–5.6

 

+5.2

of which Europe

 

–6.0

 

+5.3

of which Germany

 

–4.9

 

+2.7

of which Middle East

 

–3.5

 

+4.7

of which Latin America2

 

–7.4

 

+6.2

of which Africa

 

–2.4

 

+3.4

North America3 (NA)

 

–3.8

 

+5.6

of which United States

 

–3.4

 

+5.7

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

 

–1.1

 

+6.0

of which China

 

+2.3

 

+8.1

1

Real growth of gross domestic product; source: IHS (Global Insight), as of January 2022.

2

Latin America (excluding Mexico).

3

North America (Canada, Mexico, United States).

Main Customer Industries

At 2.2%, the global automotive industry returned to positive growth in the year under review after experiencing a strong decline in the year 2020. However, this improvement in the automotive industry trailed other main customer industries due to disruptions in global supply chains. Modest positive growth in the automotive industry in the region stood in contrast to stable performance in the region and a slightly negative trend in the region.

In the year 2021, the global construction industry saw a positive growth rate of 2.5%, recovering from the slight drop in the previous year. The construction industry expanded slightly in all regions. The key drivers of this growth were the EMLA and APAC regions, whereas growth in the NA region was modestly lower.

The 13.9% growth rate in the global electrical, electronics, and household appliances industry in fiscal year 2021 was well above the previous year’s level. The increase was mainly driven by the APAC and EMLA regions, whereas growth in the NA region was lower.

The global furniture industry experienced an 8.6% upturn with strongly positive growth rates in all regions in fiscal 2021. The APAC and EMLA regions were the engines behind the growth in the global furniture industry, whereas the pace of growth in the NA region was slower.

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Main customer industries1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growth 2020

 

Growth 2021

 

 

%

 

%

Automotive

 

–15.9

 

+2.2

Construction

 

–1.8

 

+2.5

Electrical, electronics and household appliances

 

+4.5

 

+13.9

Furniture

 

–4.8

 

+8.6

1

Covestro’s estimate, based on the following sources: LMC Automotive Limited, B+L, CSIL (Centre for Industrial Studies), Oxford Economics. We limited the economic data of our “automotive and transportation” and “furniture and wood processing” main customer industries to the automotive and furniture segments (not the transportation or wood processing segments). As of: January 2022.
APAC
Comprises all countries in the Asia and Pacific region.
NA
Region comprising Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
EMLA
Comprises all countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America (excluding Mexico).