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Steady, but uneven growth is expected to persist. Domestic demand is the main driver of expansion, but manufacturing and export performance remain subdued.

Pressures on international trade are mounting around the globe and the outlook is increasingly uncertain.

De nieuwste uitgave van de (Engelstalige) Economische Update, met daarin een beeld van de huidige wereldwijde economische omgeving en de vooruitzichten door Atradius Economic Research.

Automotive suppliers´ margins remain structurally under pressure, as the powerful car manufacturers demand greater productivity, coupled with lower prices.

Suppliers´ margins have decreased for the last couple of years, due to higher material and labour costs, rising competition and pressure on sales prices.

The Spanish automotive industry continues to benefit from the on-going economic rebound of the domestic economy as well as from increasing car exports.

The short-term outlook remains benign, but the Brexit decision will surely have an impact on domestic car sales and British car exports in the mid-term.

While market conditions for the sector are expected to remain favourable for the time being, some downside risks could materialise in the course of 2017.

In this sector payment experience has been satisfying over the past two years, and non-payments are not expected to increase in the coming months.

As car sales approach the pre-recession peak, the sector needs to adjust from what has been a growth environment to a more steady-state market situation.

The Mexican automotive sector is expected to continue growing in the coming years, with production forecast to increase to 5.2 million vehicles in 2020.

Major strengths of the Slovakian automotive industry are its close proximity to core export markets in Europe, low labour costs, and government support.

Most businesses in the automotive sector should be financially resilient enough to cope with some minor volatility in demand or commodity prices.

Foreign exchange risks, fierce competition, high taxes and the fact that many businesses are undercapitalised pose downside risks for the industry.

Nearly 90% of the survey respondents in Asia Pacific reported having experienced late payment of invoices from their B2B customers over the past year.

Nearly 24% of Australian suppliers surveyed consider maintaining adequate cash flow levels to be the greatest challenge to business profitability in 2016.

Suppliers surveyed in China (38.2%) appear to be the most likely of all their peers in Asia Pacific to sell on cash terms to their B2B customers.

The highest percentage of the suppliers interviewed in Hong Kong (42%) reported that domestic B2B customers pay invoices late due to liquidity issues.

Cost containment and cash flow position considered greatest challenges to business profitability by 18% of Indonesian suppliers (20% in Asia Pacific).

Most of the suppliers surveyed in Japan (33%) reported that foreign late payment is most often a consequence of the complexity of the payment procedure.