Press release No. 262 of 8 July 2024
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), May 2024
131.6 billion euros
-3.6% on the previous month
-1.6% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), May 2024
106.7 billion euros
-6.6% on the previous month
-8.7% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), May 2024
+24.9 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In May 2024, German exports were down 3.6% and imports dropped 6.6% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with April 2024. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports decreased by 1.6% and imports fell by 8.7% compared with May 2023.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 131.6 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 106.7 billion euros in May 2024. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 24.9 billion euros in May 2024. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 22.2 billion euros in April 2024 and 16.8 billion euros in May 2023.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 72.3 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in May 2024, while it imported goods to the value of 55.7 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with April 2024, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the EU countries dropped by 2.5% and imports from these countries fell by 8.9%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries in May 2024 totalled 50.2 billion euros (-2.7%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 37.0 billion euros (-8.6%). In May 2024, goods to the value of 22.1 billion euros (-2.0%) were exported to EU countries not belonging to the euro area, while the value of the goods imported from these countries was 18.7 billion euros (-9.6%), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 59.4 billion euros in May 2024, while imports from these countries totalled 51.0 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with April 2024, exports to third countries declined by 4.9% and imports from those countries dropped by 4.0%.
Most German exports in May 2024 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were down 2.9% compared with April 2024, with the value of exports to the United States dropping to 13.8 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 10.2% to 7.6 billion euros, and exports to the United Kingdom fell by 11.7% to 6.5 billion euros.
Most imports in May 2024 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 13.0 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 1.7% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States rose by 4.6% to 7.9 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 9.3% to 2.7 billion euros during the same period.
Exports to the Russian Federation declined a calendar and seasonally adjusted 19.3% to 0.6 billion euros in May 2024 compared with April 2024. Compared with May 2023, when exports to Russia had already decreased sharply as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, exports fell by 22.1%. Imports from Russia dropped by 8.0% to 0.2 billion euros in May 2024 from April 2024, and were down 35.7% compared with May 2023.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 129.0 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 107.0 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in May 2024. Compared with May 2023, exports in May 2024 therefore decreased by 3.8% and imports fell by 10.0%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 22.0 billion euros in May 2024. In May 2023, the surplus was 15.1 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 | May 2024 | January to May 2024 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2024 | January to May 2023 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 131.6 | 670.8 | -3.6 | -0.5 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 72.3 | 368.3 | -2.5 | -0.6 |
| Euro area | 50.2 | 255.9 | -2.7 | -1.9 |
| Non-euro area | 22.1 | 112.4 | -2.0 | 2.3 |
| Third countries | 59.4 | 302.4 | -4.9 | -0.4 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 3.2 | -19.3 | -25.4 |
| Total imports | 106.7 | 554.3 | -6.6 | -5.6 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 55.7 | 295.0 | -8.9 | -3.9 |
| Euro area | 37.0 | 195.6 | -8.6 | -4.8 |
| Non-euro area | 18.7 | 99.4 | -9.6 | -2.0 |
| Third countries | 51.0 | 259.2 | -4.0 | -7.6 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.2 | 0.9 | -8.0 | -59.4 |
| 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 | 128.8 | -0.1 | 133.3 | -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 | 115.2 | -9.1 | 104.7 | -6.3 | 97.9 | -14.9 | |
2024 | January | 135.3 | 6.0 | 130.8 | 1.4 | 108.5 | 3.7 | 109.0 | -7.1 |
| February | 133.0 | -1.7 | 134.0 | -1.1 | 111.8 | 3.0 | 109.4 | -6.5 | |
| March | 134.2 | 0.9 | 136.9 | -8.2 | 112.9 | 1.0 | 114.0 | -8.7 | |
| April | 136.5 | 1.7 | 140.7 | 12.3 | 114.3 | 1.2 | 117.0 | 6.4 | |
| May | 131.6 | -3.6 | 129.0 | -3.8 | 106.7 | -6.6 | 107.0 | -10.0 | |
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.
