Our latest Market Intelligence report, which became available on August 9, makes it clear that economic and political developments have made the outlook uncertain, to say the least, in three major consumer goods markets: Europe, the US and China, writes Leatherbiz.

Massive price increases for food and energy are leading to a considerable loss of purchasing power for the average citizen. This seems certain to affect sales of many segments that use leather, although automotive companies remain optimistic of growth, the report says.

It goes on to say that many buyers of leather are taking as much time as they can to make decisions on orders for the remainder of this year. This has a clear knock-on effect for tanners as they make decisions on sourcing hides and finished leather production.

“These decisions will certainly be made later rather than sooner,” Market Intelligence said, “But decisions on orders and production for the rest of the year must be made within the next eight weeks.”

It predicted that the Lineapelle exhibition in Milan, which runs from September 20-22, will “probably be the turning point”.