UniCredit Bank Austria Analysis
Global Competitive Pressure Affects Austria’s Federal States to Varying Degrees
- Austria’s export sector continues to hold its own relatively well on the international stage, although its share of global goods exports declined from 0.93 percent in 2010 to 0.85 percent in 2024
- China and Vietnam are gaining market share, particularly in product groups that are among the traditional strengths of Austrian industry
- Innovation is crucial for the future: All Austrian federal states have lost export market share, though to varying degrees
- Austria continues to have a high-quality export structure by international standards - Styria recorded the smallest loss in market share at around 3 percent
- Second place for Vienna: Slight gains were achieved in core products that are particularly important for Austria; the decline in export market share, at 7 percent, was lower than the Austrian average
- Carinthia, Tyrol, and Lower Austria suffered the sharpest relative losses, at over 10 percent
- Upper Austria, as Austria’s largest exporting state, recorded the sharpest absolute decline in its share of global exports
Competition on global markets is intensifying. While countries such as China, Vietnam, India, and the EU member states Poland and Slovenia were able to significantly expand their positions in international trade, numerous established industrial hubs lost market share. Austria was not spared this trend either. As a recent analysis by UniCredit Bank Austria shows, Austria’s share of global goods exports fell by more than 8 percent between 2010 and 2024, from 0.93 percent to 0.85 percent. At the same time, the study - conducted at the state level - reveals significant differences within Austria.
The Austrian export sector continues to hold its own relatively well in international comparison. Nevertheless, the analysis shows that global competitive pressure has increased noticeably. “Above all, the rapid development of Asian economies is permanently altering the balance of power on world markets”, says Stefan Bruckbauer, Chief Economist at UniCredit Bank Austria.
China and Vietnam Are Catching Up Technologically
The development of China and Vietnam is particularly striking. Both countries have significantly increased their market shares on global markets while simultaneously upgrading their export structures technologically. The gains are increasingly concentrated in product groups that have traditionally been among the strengths of Austrian industry, such as mechanical engineering, electronics, and automotive technology. It should be noted that Vietnam is increasingly serving as a production and export hub for Chinese companies. The sharp rise in Vietnamese exports to the U.S. in recent years has been accompanied by a strong increase in imports from China. Part of Vietnam’s growing export success therefore also reflects shifts within Asian supply chains as well as the circumvention of trade barriers with China.
“Competition is no longer driven solely by lower production costs. China - and increasingly, countries such as Vietnam, India, and Mexico - are now successful competitors in many technology-intensive sectors. This, in particular, is increasing the pressure on Austrian industry to further expand its innovative capacity”, explains Robert Schwarz, Economist at UniCredit Bank Austria.
Foreign trade with China and Vietnam is also gaining importance in Austria
The growing importance of China and Vietnam is also evident in Austria’s foreign trade. Imports of goods from China more than tripled between 2010 and 2025, reaching 17.5 billion euros, while those from Vietnam more than septupled, reaching just under 2 billion euros. By contrast, Austria’s total imports of goods rose by only 73 percent during the same period. As a result, by 2025, China had become Austria’s second-most important import market after Germany.
The import structure also highlights the technological advancement of China in particular. In 2025, the most important imported goods from China included electronics, machinery, and motor vehicles. The structure of imports from Vietnam has also changed. Electronic products now rank first, followed by goods from the apparel industry. This shows that China in particular - and increasingly Vietnam as well - have been able to expand their position in the market for more technologically sophisticated products, while the importance of traditional labor-intensive goods such as apparel is declining.
The trend in Austrian exports to China and Vietnam was significantly more moderate. Exports of goods to China rose by just under 80 percent between 2010 and 2025 to around 5 billion euros - a growth rate only slightly higher than that of total Austrian exports, which, like total imports, increased by around 73 percent. Although exports to Vietnam tripled over the same period, they reached only just under 300 million euros in 2025. By far the most important Austrian export to China in 2025 was machinery, followed by electronics and pharmaceutical products.
The strong momentum in imports, coupled with significantly weaker export growth, has led to substantial trade deficits. In 2025, Austria’s trade deficit with China amounted to approximately 12.5 billion euros, and with Vietnam to 1.6 billion euros.
“While imports from China and Vietnam have grown at an extraordinarily rapid pace, Austrian exports to both countries have been unable to keep up with this trend. At the same time, this highlights the increasing competitive pressure in those industrial sectors that have traditionally been among Austria’s strengths”, said Schwarz.
Differences in the Competitiveness of the Federal States
A key focus of the study is the regional analysis of export trends, including an examination of the international competitiveness of the individual federal states.
The findings show that all federal states lost export market share between 2010 and 2024. However, the differences are considerable. Carinthia, Tyrol, and Lower Austria recorded the sharpest declines in market share. Their share of global exports fell by more than 10 percent in each case. Styria, on the other hand, proved to be relatively resilient. There, the export market share declined by only about three percent, which was primarily attributable to the robust export performance of the automotive and mechanical engineering industries.
“The results show that there are significant differences in international competitiveness within Austria. Styria was able to maintain its position on global markets comparatively well, thereby demonstrating the relatively high competitiveness of its industry,” said Schwarz.
Upper Austria Under Particular Pressure
Upper Austria accounted for the largest absolute losses in market share. This is primarily due to the state’s significant role as Austria’s leading export hub. At the same time, as in Lower Austria, the declines are particularly concentrated in those product groups that are among Austria’s core industrial segments, such as machinery.
“The increasing international competition is particularly evident in industrial regions with strong export performance. The losses in market share are often concentrated in those product groups where Austria has traditionally been strong and where Asian competitors, in particular, have recently made massive gains,” Schwarz analyzed.
Vienna Holds Its Ground in Core Products
Vienna plays a special role. With a 7 percent decline in export market share between 2010 and 2024, the federal capital fared significantly better than Austria as a whole and ranked second among the federal states, behind Styria. While Vienna lost market share in many other products, the federal capital was even able to achieve slight gains in the core products that are particularly important for Austria. This sets Vienna apart from most other federal states. Vienna’s competitive advantage is based primarily on a single industry: Pharmaceutical exports increased fivefold from 2010 to 2024 and were the key driver of the positive trend in core products.
“Vienna’s performance shows that successful specialization is possible even in an increasingly competitive environment. In the future, it will be crucial to further expand our position in technologically sophisticated and knowledge-intensive segments,” emphasizes Schwarz.
Innovation Remains Crucial
The analysis concludes that, by international standards, Austria continues to have a high-quality export structure. However, to ensure long-term competitiveness, innovation, research, technological leadership, and the development of new markets will become increasingly important.
“The results show that global competition is increasingly shifting toward those areas that are particularly important for Austria’s industry. This makes it all the more crucial to consistently develop our own technological strengths and tap into new growth markets,” Bruckbauer summarizes.
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Economics & Market Analysis Austria
Robert Schwarz, Phone: +43 (0) 50505-41974;
Email: robert.schwarz@unicreditgroup.at