Press release No. 197 of 21 May 2024
Producer prices of industrial products (domestic sales), April 2024
-3.3% on the same month a year earlier
+0.2% on the previous month
WIESBADEN – The producer prices of industrial products were 3.3% lower in April 2024 than in April 2023. In March, the year-on-year change rate was -2.9%. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that producer prices in April 2024 were up 0.2% on March 2024.
In April 2024, lower energy prices continued to be the main reason for the year-on-year decline in producer prices. Intermediate goods were also less expensive than in April 2023, whereas higher prices had to be paid for consumer and capital goods.
Sharp declines in the prices of natural gas (distribution) and electricity
Energy prices in April 2024 were down 8.2% from April 2023. Compared with March 2024, energy prices dropped by 0.1%. Lower prices for natural gas and electricity had the biggest influence on the year-on-year rate of change for energy. Across all customer groups, gas prices declined by 18.0% from April 2023 (-1.0% from March 2024). Electricity cost 14.0% less in April 2024 than in April 2023 across all customer groups. Compared with March 2024, electricity prices increased by 0.1%.
Mineral oil products were 2.1% more expensive than in April 2023. Compared with March 2024, the prices of these products were up 1.7%. Heating oil prices increased by 9.7% from a year earlier (+1.9% compared with March 2024). Motor fuels cost 2.6% more than in April 2023 (+2.5% on March 2024).
Excluding energy prices, producer prices were 0.6% lower than in April 2023 and 0.3% higher than in March 2024.
Price decreases for intermediate goods mainly due to lower prices of paper and paperboard and basic chemicals
Intermediate goods prices were 3.1% lower in April 2024 than a year earlier. Compared with the previous month, they were up 0.3%.
The year-on-year decline in prices was mainly due to the price development for paper, paperboard and paper products and the price development for basic chemicals. The prices of paper, paperboard and paper products were down 7.7% from April 2023, and were up 0.9% on the previous month. Newsprint cost 23.4% less than in April 2023, while the prices of boxes and cartons made of corrugated paper or paperboard were down 10.3% year on year.
Basic chemicals (total) were 6.6% less expensive than in the same month a year earlier. Very large price decreases were recorded for fertilisers and nitrogen compounds (-22.1% compared with April 2023). The prices of synthetic rubber dropped by 14.1% compared with April 2023.
The prices of metals were also significantly lower (-5.8%) than in the same month a year earlier. Basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys were 11.2% less expensive than in April 2023. The prices of concrete reinforcing bars declined by 10.1% year on year. Prepared feeds for farm animals cost 15.0% less than a year earlier and the prices of glass and glass products were down 7.0%.
By contrast, price increases compared with April 2023 were observed particularly for plaster products for construction purposes (+5.6%), mortar (+4.8%) and lime (+4.5%). Stone, gravel, sand, clay and kaolin cost 7.2% more year on year.
Price increases for capital goods
Capital goods prices rose 2.4% year on year (+0.2% compared with previous month). Machinery cost 2.8% more than in April 2023 (+0.2% month on month). The prices of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers were up 1.7% year on year (+0.3% compared with the previous month).
In April 2024, non-durable consumer goods were 0.3% more expensive than in April 2023 (+0.4% on the previous month). Food prices in April 2024 were down slightly (-0.4%) from April 2023 (+0.5% month on month). Lower prices than in the same month a year earlier were recorded in April 2024 especially for milk (-10.6%) and oils and fats (-8.6%). On the other hand, confectionery prices rose by 21.8% compared with April 2023. Butter cost 18.0% more than a year earlier. Compared with March 2024, butter prices were up 1.8%.
Durable consumer goods were 1.0% more expensive in April 2024 than in April 2023. Compared with March 2024, the prices of durable consumer goods were up 0.1%.
Rebasing the producer price index for industrial products
The producer price index for industrial products was rebased to 2021 as of reference month January 2024. As a general rule, the base year is changed every five years. The recalculation of the producer price index relies on a weighting scheme that is based on the domestic sales of industrial products in 2021 and is used for weighting the subindices in the calculation of the overall index.
When the base year was changed, all indices as of January 2021 were recalculated, taking account of the new weighting scheme. The price indices determined using the old base of 2015 are therefore no longer valid. More information on the rebasing of the producer price index for industrial products (only in German) is available in the "Revisionen in der Preisstatistik" (only in German) section on the "Preisstatistik im Überblick" (only in German) page of the Federal Statistical Office’s website.
Methodological notes:
The producer price index for industrial products measures the development of prices for products produced and sold in Germany by the mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and energy and water supply sectors. All charges and taxes on goods are included, except value-added tax. The index therefore reflects price developments at an early stage of the economic process. The 15th of each reference month is the survey reference date.
More information:
The statistical report (only in German) on producer price indices of industrial products (domestic sales) also includes the latest results. Long time series for the overall index are also available in the table on producer price indices for industrial products (61241-0002) and for sub-indices in the table on producer price indices for industrial products (61241-0004) in the GENESIS-Online database.
Information on CO₂ pricing under the Fuel Emission Allowance Trading Act is provided on the “Producer price index for industrial products” page.
Producer prices of industrial products are also available on Dashboard Germany at 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 (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
