Press release No. 178 of 7 May 2024
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), March 2024
134.1 billion euros
+0.9% on the previous month
+1.2% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), March 2024
111.9 billion euros
+0.3% on the previous month
-3.0% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), March 2024
+22.3 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In March 2024, German exports were up 0.9% and imports rose by 0.3% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with February 2024. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports increased by 1.2% from March 2023 while imports dropped by 3.0%.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 134.1 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 111.9 billion euros in March 2024. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 22.3 billion euros in March 2024. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 21.4 billion euros in February 2024 and 17.2 billion euros in March 2023.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 73.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in March 2024, while it imported goods to the value of 58.8 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with February 2024, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries rose by 0.5% and imports from these countries increased by 1.5%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries totalled 50.8 billion euros in March 2024 (unchanged from February 2024), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 39.1 billion euros (+2.0%). In March 2024, goods to the value of 22.5 billion euros (+1.8%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 19.7 billion euros (+0.6%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 60.9 billion euros in March 2024, while imports from these countries totalled 53.1 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with February 2024, exports to third countries increased by 1.3% and imports from those countries fell by 1.1%.
Most German exports in March 2024 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were up 3.6% compared with February 2024, with the value of exports to the United States rising to 14.3 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China increased by 3.7% to 8.3 billion euros and exports to the United Kingdom declined by 3.8% to 6.4 billion euros.
Most imports in March 2024 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 13.7 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 14.3% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 2.7% to 7.6 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 10.0% to 2.8 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 14.8% to 0.6 billion euros in March 2024 compared with February 2024. Compared with March 2023, when exports to Russia had already decreased sharply as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports fell by 35.3%. Imports from Russia fell by 16.3% to 0.2 billion euros in March 2024 from February 2024. Compared with March 2023, imports dropped by 45.9%.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 136.8 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 112.9 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in March 2024. Compared with March 2023, exports in March 2024 therefore decreased by 8.3%, and imports fell by 9.6%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 23.9 billion euros in March 2024. In March 2023, the surplus was 24.3 billion euros.
Methodological notes:
The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects. The results of month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably due to the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Detailed explanations on calendar and seasonal adjustment are included in the "Saisonbereinigung im Außenhandel" methodological paper (only in German). Calendar and seasonally adjusted values are always notional calculated values. For this reason, a comparison between adjusted series and unadjusted (nominal) series would serve little purpose.
The results in this press release are provisional data from monthly foreign trade statistics. As detailed results are not available this early, it is not possible to provide information on the reasons for changes in foreign trade as a whole or in trade with individual countries or groups of countries.
| Item | March 2024 | January to March 2024 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2024 | January to March 2023 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 134.1 | 402.2 | 0.9 | -1.1 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 73.3 | 222.0 | 0.5 | -0.6 |
| Euro area | 50.8 | 154.2 | 0.0 | -2.1 |
| Non-euro area | 22.5 | 67.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Third countries | 60.9 | 180.2 | 1.3 | -1.8 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 1.9 | -14.8 | -31.0 |
| Total imports | 111.9 | 331.8 | 0.3 | -6.6 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 58.8 | 178.1 | 1.5 | -3.3 |
| Euro area | 39.1 | 118.1 | 2.0 | -4.4 |
| Non-euro area | 19.7 | 59.9 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| Third countries | 53.1 | 153.7 | -1.1 | -10.2 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.2 | 0.6 | -16.3 | -66.3 |
| Year | Month | Exports | Imports | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | calendar and seasonally adjusted value | original value | ||||||
| value in billion euros | change on previous month, % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | value in billion euros | change on previous month, % | value in billion euros | change on the same month of the previous year, % | ||
| 2023 | January | 135.1 | 2.9 | 129.0 | 14.9 | 117.8 | 0.2 | 117.3 | 9.3 |
| February | 139.1 | 2.9 | 135.5 | 7.7 | 122.2 | 3.7 | 117.0 | 3.4 | |
| March | 132.5 | -4.7 | 149.2 | 5.9 | 115.3 | -5.6 | 124.9 | -4.9 | |
| April | 134.0 | 1.1 | 125.3 | 0.1 | 115.2 | -0.1 | 109.9 | -10.6 | |
| May | 133.7 | -0.2 | 134.1 | -1.9 | 116.9 | 1.5 | 118.9 | -10.0 | |
| June | 133.6 | -0.1 | 141.5 | 2.4 | 114.6 | -2.0 | 118.5 | -8.5 | |
| July | 131.6 | -1.5 | 128.1 | -1.1 | 113.3 | -1.1 | 109.1 | -12.1 | |
| August | 131.8 | 0.2 | 125.7 | -3.7 | 113.0 | -0.2 | 108.7 | -16.2 | |
| September | 128.9 | -2.2 | 131.6 | -8.8 | 111.1 | -1.8 | 111.2 | -17.8 | |
| October | 128.7 | -0.2 | 133.2 | -3.2 | 110.0 | -1.0 | 114.1 | -13.3 | |
| November | 133.6 | 3.7 | 141.7 | -3.1 | 111.7 | 1.6 | 118.2 | -11.3 | |
| December | 127.6 | -4.5 | 115.1 | -9.1 | 104.7 | -6.3 | 97.9 | -14.9 | |
2024 | January | 135.1 | 5.9 | 130.6 | 1.2 | 108.3 | 3.5 | 108.8 | -7.3 |
| February | 133.0 | -1.6 | 133.9 | -1.1 | 111.6 | 3.0 | 109.2 | -6.7 | |
| March | 134.1 | 0.9 | 136.8 | -8.3 | 111.9 | 0.3 | 112.9 | -9.6 | |
More information:
More calendar and seasonally adjusted results of foreign trade statistics are available in the GENESIS-Online database (Tables 51000-0020 and 51000-0021). First detailed provisional results on a nominal basis by country of origin/country of destination and by chapter of the Commodity Classification for Foreign Trade Statistics are available for download.
Foreign trade results are also available on Dashboard Germany www.dashboard-deutschland.de (only in German). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
