BERLIN, May 16 Reuters High energy costs, weak global demand, a disruptive shift towards netzero economies, and growing competition from China are raising existential questions for Germany39;s economic model.

CEOs and business lobbies say its historically strong industrial base is close to cracking, a deindustrialisation risk often accompanied by calls for government support.

But how real is this risk? Here are some key data and how close watchers of the German economy interpret them.

SHRINKING OUTPUT

Monthly industrial production data give the most obvious snapshots of how the sector is doing, and they show a clear decline since the end of 2017, exacerbated by the COVID19 pandemic and now the Ukraine war.

In Germany, it is relatively clear that industrial production will remain lower than before the energy price increases with the war in Ukraine, said Torsten Schmidt, economist at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research RWI.

ndustrial production refers to the output of the manufacturing, energy and construction sectors. The indicator is an index based on a reference period and shows changes in production volumes.

Although this indicator gives the most uptodate view of where industry is heading, economists use other measures to get a broader sense of the trend.

VALUE ADDED HOLDS UP

One such is how much value is added to the economy by manufacturing and that has fallen only slightly.

Germany is indeed producing fewer cars, producing fewer other things and…