Industrial energy prices and the competitiveness of the Austrian business sector

Autoren: Andreas Reinstaller, Richard Sellner (OeNB)
Report 03/24

This study analyses the development of the energy cost-based competitiveness of the Austrian business sector with a focus on the manufacturing, construction, and transport industries. The study investigates the development of industrial end-use energy prices and the development of the energy intensity at the sector level, as both factors affect real unit energy cost. The results show that electricity and natural gas prices in Austria are closer coupled than across EU and some OECD countries. Industrial energy prices in Austria have risen steadily, with price levels close to or above the median of other EU and OECD countries. Cross-sector deviations from this pattern reflect differences in the composition of the fuel mix in energy use, with sectors heavily reliant on natural gas and electricity experiencing stronger price increases relative to their international peers. The observed reduction of aggregate energy intensity post-2014 was driven more by structural economic changes than by within-sector improvements in energy intensity. Fuel substitution plays a minor role across sectors and firms. Long-term aggregate trends show a persistent and slightly increasing use of natural gas and a gradual shift from oil to electricity. Losses in energy cost-based competitiveness are associated with a decline in the growth rates of price-cost margins, producer prices as well as productivity. Investment, employment and export growth rates are not significantly correlated to a deterioration of energy cost-based competitiveness.

Zitiervorschlag: Reinstaller A., Sellner R. (OeNB) (2023). Industrial energy prices and the competitiveness of the Austrian business sector, Report 03/2024, Büro des Produktivitätsrates, https://www.produktivitaetsrat.at/publikationen/reports/2024003.html.

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