Press release No. 234 of 19 June 2024

Stock of orders in manufacturing, April 2024
-0.5%, in real terms, on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-5.6%, in real terms, on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

Range of the stock of orders
7.1 months

WIESBADEN – The real (price adjusted) stock of orders in manufacturing was down 0.5% in April 2024 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The calendar adjusted stock of orders was 5.6% lower in April 2024 than in April 2023.

 

As in previous months, the decline in the stock of orders in April 2024 was mainly attributable to the development in the automotive industry. In this sector, the stock of orders was down 3.0% from March 2024 after seasonal and calendar adjustment, declining for the 15th month in succession. By contrast, the growth recorded in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains; +0.7%) had a positive impact on the stock of orders.

Unfilled domestic orders in April 2024 were down 0.9% on March 2024, while the stock of foreign orders declined by 0.2%.

The stock of orders for producers of capital goods decreased by 0.5%, and producers of intermediate goods experienced a decline of 1.0%. The stock of orders in the consumer goods sector rose by 0.6%.

Range of the stock of orders down to 7.1 months

Compared with the previous month, the range of the stock of orders fell to 7.1 months in April 2024 (March 2024: 7.2 months). The range declined to 9.7 months for producers of capital goods (March 2024: 9.8 months) and to 4.0 months for producers of intermediate goods (March 2024: 4.1 months). For producers of consumer goods, the range of the stock of orders remained unchanged at 3.5 months.

Assuming turnover remains constant and no new orders are received, the range indicates the number of months local units would, in theory, have to produce goods to fill all orders on hand. It is calculated as the ratio between the current stock of orders and average turnover of the last twelve months in the respective branch.

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. 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 and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably due to the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.

The stock of orders comprises all new orders received by the end of the reference month which have neither generated any turnover nor been cancelled by that time. The rates of change are based on the price adjusted index of the stock of orders in manufacturing. The average figure for 2021 is used as the basis of the index and set to 100 index points (2021 = 100). The X13 JDemetra+ method was used for calendar and seasonal adjustment. The stock of orders is covered and evaluated in accordance with the "Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008)". In the process, information on the stock of orders and on new orders is only collected in selected branches (only in German) of manufacturing.

For better readability, this press release uses a short form for the names of some economic branches which differs from the designations in the "Classification of Economic Activities (2008 edition)". An overview of these short forms (only in German) is provided on the "Industry, manufacturing" page on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.

More information:

Detailed data are available from the GENESIS-Online database (42155-0004 indices of the stock of orders and 42113-0001 Ranges of the stock of orders).

Detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.