Industrie#

Industry, part of the producing sector, in which investment and consumer goods are manufactured from raw materials and semi-finished goods. Industrial production is characterised by the extensive use of technology and the production of large numbers of each type of goods. Nevertheless, the boundary between industry and handicrafts is imprecise and difficult to record statistically

In Austria, industry plays a less important role than in other countries. In the course of the industrialisation that took place in the 19th century, industrial centres were developed in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia; in Austria, industrial production was limited to a few regions: the Mur and Muerz valleys, the southern Vienna Basin, and the Rhein Valley. Austria in the 19th and early 20th centuries can therefore be described as having been an industrialised agrarian state. It was only during the Second World War and the decades of reconstruction in the aftermath of the war that a "belated surge of industrialisation" occurred. Before industrialisation reached its zenith, however, a countermovement had already begun.

After the Second World War, an appreciable portion of the armaments industry managed to carry on by switching to the production of non-military goods; most of these companies were put under state control on July 26, 1946. However, the Soviet Union claimed about 30 % of the industrial capacity (232 firms) in its zone of occupation as German property and had these firms produce goods under the direction of the USIA for their own needs. Under the First Nationalisation Law the equity interests of about 70 companies were transferred to the state-owned banks (Creditanstalt, Laenderbank, Oesterreichisches Credit-Institut); the remainder, in varying legal forms of commercial entities, were administrated by the state. With the aid of the Marshall Plan, these companies, as well as the private companies, were built up again, modernised, and integrated into the Western European economy. In 1946 Austria's industry had regained 44 % of its pre-war volume, in 1949 it exceeded the pre-war volume by 23 %, and by 1954 the number of employees in all sectors had increased by 68 %. The upswing varied in extent from one branch to another; it was particularly high in the area of investment goods, but less so in the consumer goods sector. On the whole, however, the breakthrough to an industrial state succeeded. Nevertheless, at the end of the 1950s industrial policy was neglected, resulting in signs of recession in 1958. In 1956 the state-owned companies were put under the administration of the Industrie- und Bergbauverwaltung (IBV, industry and mining administration), but continued to be strongly susceptible to political influence. In the 1960s the capacities of all branches of industry developed considerably, but around 1967 another slump occurred and the number of industrial employees dropped by 45,000, although production rose by 76 %. Austrian industry continued to be marked by structural weaknesses. In 1966 the state holding company OeIG (since 1970 OeIAG, Oesterreichische Industrieholding AG) was established, whose goal was to create tighter organisation of the state-owned companies; consolidations were carried out (from 1972 in the steel and chemical branches), but these often failed to bring favourable results. It became increasingly necessary to use foreign capital, and problems with the EEC became noticeable. Traditional heavy industry in particular was plagued by difficulties, but new products (insolvencies of Eumig and Klimatechnik) did not always meet with success, either. The establishment of new companies (General Motors Opel Austria in Aspern in Vienna's 22nd district) depended on massive state subsidies. In the mid-1970s the downswing of the textile industry began, while environmental protection stipulations created additional burdens. A large number of companies succeeded in switching over to new products (e.g. motor vehicle parts). In 1983 Creditanstalt-Bankverein (CA) and Laenderbank ( Bank Austria AG) began to sell affiliated companies. Closures met with strong resistance in the affected regions. From 1993 onward, many of the state-owned industrial companies ( nationalised industry) were dissolved and numerous employees made redundant, extensive restructuring took place, and partial privatisation was carried out. Many formerly important industrial towns (Wiener Neustadt, Ternitz, St. Poelten, Steyr, and towns in the Muerz and Mur valleys) lost a considerable portion of their industrial capacity. The end of the 1990s saw the first positive results of these far-reaching structural measures. Employment figures began to stabilize, in spite of the pressures of globalization an upswing in performance is evident in numerous Austrian industrial enterprises.

In 1997, Austria had 3,849 industrial enterprises employing a total of 448,282 persons, the value of products sold amounted to 1523 billion schillings. This trend is evident in the typically small-scale structure of Austrian businesses: in 1995 18.2 % of the registered workforce was employed in companies with up to 19 employees; 23.8% were employed by companies with a staff between 20 to 99 and 58% by companies with 100 or more employees. Industry in Austria is in a process of extensive structural transformation. Traditional heavy industry diminished considerably until the mid-nineties. Production can be carried out with fewer workers or is outsourced to other countries, or higher costs make competition with products from other countries unfeasible. Sectors especially affected by this trend are the mining, leather, textile and clothing industries.

Distribution of production according to provinces is as follows: Lower Austria (23.5%), Upper Austria (21.8%), Vienna (16.9%), Styria (15.6%) followed by Tyrol (5.5%) and Burgenland (1.5%).

The most important export country for Austrian industrial companies is Germany with 35.1% (1997), followed by Italy with 8.3%, Hungary and Switzerland (both 4.9%).

Non-wage labour costs of Austrian industrial companies are very high compared to international standards, in 1997 Austria ranked second on the international scale behind Italy with non-wage labour costs amounting to 99% of labour costs; the average hourly cost of labour amounted to ATS 270.10 in 1996, clearly above the EU average (ATS 233.10).

Literature#