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PIE Survey: Internal results analysis
Results 9th PIE Readers’ Survey
Survey period: 05.12.2022 - 13.01.2023
Participants: 297
Survey questions
1. How would you rate your company’s business performance in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
2. What are the expectations for your company’s business performance in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
7. The main concerns for your company
8. The energy crisis poses enormous challenges for the chemical and plastics industries.
1. How would you rate your company’s business performance in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
a) Total (domestic and export)
296 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 79 | 26.7 % |
| Same | 72 | 24.3 % |
| Worse | 145 | 49.0 % |
| Total | 296 | 100.0 % |
1. How would you rate your company’s business performance in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
b) Domestic
292 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 57 | 19.5 % |
| Same | 120 | 41.1 % |
| Worse | 115 | 39.4 % |
| Total | 292 | 100.0 % |
1. How would you rate your company’s business performance in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
c) Export to the EU27 + CH, NO, UK
290 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 54 | 18.6 % |
| Same | 122 | 42.1 % |
| Worse | 114 | 39.3 % |
| Total | 290 | 100.0 % |
1. How would you rate your company’s business performance in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
d) Export to the rest of the world
285 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 43 | 15.1 % |
| Same | 151 | 53.0 % |
| Worse | 91 | 31.9 % |
| Total | 285 | 100.0 % |
2. What are the expectations for your company’s business performance in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
a) Total (domestic and export)
295 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 98 | 33.2 % |
| Same | 128 | 43.4 % |
| Worse | 69 | 23.4 % |
| Total | 295 | 100.0 % |
2.What are the expectations for your company’s business performance in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
b) Domestic
294 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 88 | 29.9 % |
| Same | 142 | 48.3 % |
| Worse | 64 | 21.8 % |
| Total | 294 | 100.0 % |
2.What are the expectations for your company’s business performance in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
c) Export to the EU27 + CH, NO, UK
283 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 81 | 28.6 % |
| Same | 144 | 50.9 % |
| Worse | 58 | 20.5 % |
| Total | 283 | 100.0 % |
2.What are the expectations for your company’s business performance in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
d) Export to the rest of the world
285 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Better | 61 | 21.4 % |
| Same | 174 | 61.1 % |
| Worse | 50 | 17.5 % |
| Total | 285 | 100.0 % |
3. How is your capital investment plan for tangible assets (property, plant and equipment) for 2023, compared to 2022?
296 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Increasing | 100 | 33.8 % |
| Staying the same | 126 | 42.6 % |
| Decreasing | 70 | 23.6 % |
| Total | 296 | 100.0 % |
4. What is the focus for your capital investment for 2023?
294 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Expansion | 97 | 33.0 % |
| Streamlining (minimising costs) | 152 | 51.7 % |
| Replacement | 45 | 15.3 % |
| Total | 294 | 100.0 % |
5. How did the number of employees at your company develop in the second half of 2022, compared to the first half of 2022?
294 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Increased | 65 | 22.1 % |
| Stayed the same | 170 | 57.8 % |
| Decreased | 59 | 20.1 % |
| Total | 294 | 100.0 % |
6. How do you see the number of employees at your company developing in the first half of 2023, compared to the second half of 2022?
296 answers Time series
Data missing.
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Increasing | 65 | 22.0 % |
| Staying the same | 192 | 64.9 % |
| Decreasing | 39 | 13.2 % |
| Total | 296 | 100.0 % |
7. The main concerns for your company
a) in 2022 were
297 answers (multiple answers possible)Time series
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Cost of materials | 238 | 80.1 % |
| Energy costs | 227 | 76.4 % |
| Raw material availability | 155 | 52.2 % |
| Inflation | 147 | 49.5 % |
| Transport/logistics | 131 | 44.1 % |
| Impacts of the war in Ukraine | 122 | 41.1 % |
| Sales prices | 106 | 35.7 % |
| Sales volumes | 96 | 32.3 % |
| Liquidity | 41 | 13.8 % |
| Other | 4 | 1.3 % |
5 answers for “other”
| availability of labor | Plastics processing | employees: 101-500 |
| workforce availability | Other sector | employees: 101-500 |
| energy costs is the major problem for converters | Raw materials distribution/trading/compounding | employees: 21-100 |
| Demand | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 101-500 |
| We have war, but work hard | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 101-500 |
7. The main concerns for your company
b) expected in 2023 are
294 answers (multiple answers possible)Time series
Data missing.
Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Energy costs | 235 | 79.9 % |
| Inflation | 178 | 60.5 % |
| Cost of materials | 163 | 55.4 % |
| Sales volumes | 151 | 51.4 % |
| Sales prices | 137 | 46.6 % |
| Impacts of the war in Ukraine | 104 | 35.4 % |
| Transport/logistics | 75 | 25.5 % |
| Raw material availability | 67 | 22.8 % |
| Liquidity | 54 | 18.4 % |
| Other | 6 | 2.0 % |
8 answers for “other”
| Interest rate | Brand owner | employees: <20 |
| Imported materials (cheaper energy) | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: >500 |
| workforce availability | Other sector | employees: 101-500 |
| Customer payment behaviour | Raw materials distribution/trading/compounding | employees: 21-100 |
| COSTS INCREASES WITH SALARIES | Plastics processing | employees: 101-500 |
| Demand | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 101-500 |
| We have war, but work harder | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 101-500 |
| margin | Plastics processing | employees: 21-100 |
8. The energy crisis poses enormous challenges for the chemical and plastics industries.
a) How do the increased energy prices affect your business results?
296 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Very negative | 55 | 18.6 % |
| Negative | 157 | 53.0 % |
| Hardly | 52 | 17.6 % |
| Probably not | 14 | 4.7 % |
| Not noticeable/not worth mentioning | 9 | 3.0 % |
| We do not know yet | 9 | 3.0 % |
| Total | 296 | 100.0 % |
8. The energy crisis poses enormous challenges for the chemical and plastics industries.
b) What measures are you trying to take to counteract the energy crisis?
292 answers (multiple answers possible)Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Saving energy and increasing efficiency | 193 | 66.1 % |
| Increasing sales prices | 184 | 63.0 % |
| Switching to other energy sources | 82 | 28.1 % |
| Investment freeze | 36 | 12.3 % |
| Reducing production | 35 | 12.0 % |
| Job cuts/reduced working hours | 26 | 8.9 % |
| There is nothing we can do | 23 | 7.9 % |
| Relocating production to locations with lower energy prices | 16 | 5.5 % |
| Not a problem for us | 14 | 4.8 % |
| Other | 9 | 3.1 % |
9 answers for “other”
| there is no crisis in Russia | Other sector | employees: >500 |
| installing solar plant on a roof | Plastics processing | employees: 101-500 |
| to optimize raw material costs | Other sector | employees: >500 |
| Changing process locations and timeschedules | Plastics processing | employees: <20 |
| installed solar panels | Other sector | employees: 101-500 |
| Invest in self-energy prodution | Plastics processing | employees: 21-100 |
| Installed Solar panels | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 21-100 |
| Favorable Fixed Contracts | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 101-500 |
| buy more efficient machines | Plastics/chemicals production | employees: 21-100 |
9. When do you expect to return to pre-crisis business levels?
295 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| In H1 2023 | 8 | 2.7 % |
| At the earliest from H2 2023 | 73 | 24.7 % |
| Not before 2024 | 129 | 43.7 % |
| Never again | 7 | 2.4 % |
| We cannot estimate yet | 44 | 14.9 % |
| We are/were not affected | 13 | 4.4 % |
| We have already recovered | 21 | 7.1 % |
| Total | 295 | 100.0 % |
About your company
Which country is your company headquartered in?
281 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Nordic region (49) | 49 | 17.4 % |
| Central & Eastern Europe (33) | 33 | 11.7 % |
| Italy (31) | 31 | 11.0 % |
| UK & Ireland (31) | 31 | 11.0 % |
| Spain & Portugal (28) | 28 | 10.0 % |
| Benelux (26) | 26 | 9.3 % |
| Southeastern Europe (21) | 21 | 7.5 % |
| German-speaking Europe (20) | 20 | 7.1 % |
| France (19) | 19 | 6.8 % |
| Other (23) | 23 | 8.2 % |
| Total | 281 | 100.0 % |
Region details
| Region | Countries |
| Benelux | Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands |
| Central & Eastern Europe | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine |
| France | France |
| German-speaking Europe | Austria, Switzerland, Germany |
| Italy | Italy, San Marino |
| Nordic region | Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden |
| Southeastern Europe | Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Israel, Malta, Turkey |
| Spain & Portugal | Spain, Portugal |
| UK & Ireland | United Kingdom, Ireland |
| Other | United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Cayman Islands, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Tunisia, Taiwan, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, South Africa |
About your company
To which sector does your company belong?
290 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Plastics/chemicals production | 46 | 15.9 % |
| Raw materials distribution/trading/compounding | 36 | 12.4 % |
| Plastics machinery/equipment/tools | 4 | 1.4 % |
| Plastics processing | 105 | 36.2 % |
| Plastic products trade | 29 | 10.0 % |
| Plastics recycling/recovery | 15 | 5.2 % |
| Brand owner | 15 | 5.2 % |
| Other | 40 | 13.8 % |
| Total | 290 | 100.0 % |
About your company
From which end-use market does your company generate the majority of its revenues?
105 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| Packaging | 24 | 22.9 % |
| Automotive/transport | 28 | 26.7 % |
| E&E | 6 | 5.7 % |
| Building/construction | 22 | 21.0 % |
| Consumer goods | 14 | 13.3 % |
| Medical | 4 | 3.8 % |
| Other sector | 7 | 6.7 % |
| Total | 105 | 100.0 % |
About your company
What proportion of your company’s sales is exports?
290 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| <25% | 107 | 36.9 % |
| 25-50% | 59 | 20.3 % |
| >50-75% | 58 | 20.0 % |
| >75% | 66 | 22.8 % |
| Total | 290 | 100.0 % |
About your company
How many employees does your company have?
296 answers Data table
| Answer | Number | Share |
| <20 | 38 | 12.8 % |
| 21-100 | 91 | 30.7 % |
| 101-500 | 83 | 28.0 % |
| >500 | 84 | 28.4 % |
| Total | 296 | 100.0 % |