The German glass industry closed 2013 with a negligible decline in revenue (0.1%), compared with the same period in 2012. Total revenue, therefore, remained constant at around 8.94bn/Euros (8.95bn/Euros). Domestic sales declined by 0.7% (5.66bn/Euros), whereas foreign sales rose by 0.9% (3.28bn/Euros). The number of employees in the glass industry decreased by 1.4% to approximately 53,000. The flat glass manufacturing and finishing segments recovered in 2013 after the drastic slump in 2012. Flat glass manufacturers reported a 3% increase in revenue, though overall revenue in the flat glass finishing sector declined slightly by 1.5%. Total revenue in the flat glass manufacturing sector was 1.02bn/Euros - 558m/Euros of which was accounted for by domestic sales (down 9%) and 478m/Euros by foreign sales (up 21.1%). The flat glass finishing sector reported total annual revenue of 3.44bn/Euros, whereby domestic sales accounted for 2.43bn/Euros (down 2.4%) and foreign sales 1.01bn/Euros (up 0.9%). Results in the consumer-related container glass segment remained constant, and it closed 2013 with revenue growth of 3.7% to 1.91bn/Euros. This is particularly due to the high level of foreign sales, which increased from 7.4% to 678m/Euros, a much more positive development than domestic sales, which only increased by 1.8% to 1.24bn/Euros. The glass fibre segment's result was also positive, up 4.1% to 874m/Euros.
