Falling prices did not mean falling production costs for businesses. On the contrary, with labor and industrial raw materials becoming more expensive, many companies saw their production costs rise rather than fall.
The military supply orders provided by Britain and Russia fell short of market expectations, leaving multiple industries facing an oversupply. Under such circumstances, life was naturally difficult for the processing and manufacturing sector.
To survive, everyone had no choice but to wage price wars. The quick-reacting firms fared better; at the very least, they had made a fortune during the initial outbreak of the war last year.
The market declined somewhat in the first quarter, but profits were still generally good. Once the second quarter began, however, tragedy struck. A swarm of people dreaming of profiting from the war entered the market, further intensifying competition.
Withdrawal was impossible. Their capital had already turned into machinery, equipment, and factory buildings. Leaving the market at this point meant finding no one willing to take over.
Relatively speaking, British companies suffered the least impact. Government procurement gave priority to domestic firms, invisibly granting them the greatest advantage.
Among the great powers, French industry and commerce undoubtedly suffered the most. They could not seize British Government orders, while Russian orders brought competition from Austria.
The French Government's willingness to issue bonds to the Russians was, in fact, also meant to compete for the market. Once they took Francs, they naturally had to purchase French goods.
Even so, French industry and commerce could only secure a portion of the orders for everyday goods. In the most profitable military-industrial sector, they simply could not compete with Austria.
It was not that French companies had failed to try, nor that the Russians were treating them differently. The main issue was that their military-industrial systems were