The upward trend in bankruptcies continued in September, with 553 companies going under, 40 more than in August and 26 more than in the year-earlier period, the central statistics office CBS said on Monday.

One badly hit sector is transport, according to an analysis by ING economist Rico Luman for the Financieele Dagblad. In July and August the number of bankruptcies more than doubled compared with the year-earlier period. Growth in this sector was still 36% in the first six months of 2012.
Construction, too, saw similar figures, with the number of bankcupties 58% higher in July and August than in the year-earlier period and a first six months growth of 45%, says the FD.
However, the number of new companies has also grown. According to Luman, around 200,000 new companies were started between 2008 and 2011.