According to forecasts, the production of household electrical appliances in the EU will increase slightly in 2025 and 2026 - by 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, year-on-year. However, the recovery will be slow due to continued weakness in manufacturing, deteriorating economic prospects and weakening consumer demand, Eurofer said.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, production in the sector decreased by 5.2% for the fourth consecutive quarter. This continued the downward trend that began in the second quarter of 2021 after a stronger-than-expected recovery from Covid. The contraction is expected to continue until a moderate recovery begins in the second quarter of 2025.
The sector has experienced three consecutive annual declines: -4.6% in 2022, -4.1% in 2023, and a steeper-than-expected -5% in 2024, which was revised up from -2.2%, Kallanish notes.
Previously, the sector benefited from an increase in remote work, which stimulated demand in late 2020 and early 2021. But since then, the return of workers to offices, constant disruptions in supply chains, rising energy prices and deteriorating industrial prospects in the EU, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, have negatively affected productivity.
While long-term factors such as the Internet of Things and constant remote work may contribute to future growth. However, their positive effect is unlikely to appear before 2026.
Elina Virchenko Bulgaria
kallanish.com
