Press release No. 335 of 5 September 2024

New orders in manufacturing:
July 2024 (in real terms, provisional):
+2.9% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+3.7% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted) 

June 2024 (in real terms, revised):
+4.6% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-11.2% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted) 

WIESBADEN – Real (price adjusted) new orders in manufacturing were up 2.9% in July 2024 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders were 1.7% higher in the period from May to July 2024 than in the previous three months. When large-scale orders are excluded, new orders in July 2024 were down 0.4% on June 2024, and they were 1.0% higher in the period from May to July 2024 than in the previous three months. After revision of the provisional results, new orders in June 2024 increased by 4.6% compared with May 2024 (provisional figure: +3.9%).

Marked increase in new orders due to several large-scale orders

The positive development of new orders in manufacturing in July 2024 is mainly attributable to the substantial growth in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles), where new orders were up 86.5% on the previous month due to several large-scale orders. The growth recorded in the manufacture of electrical equipment (+18.6%) also had a positive effect. By contrast, the decline in new orders in the "manufacture of machinery and equipment" sector (-6.1%) had a negative impact on overall performance.

New orders in the capital goods and intermediate goods sector were up 3.5% and 4.4%, respectively, in July 2024 on the previous month. By contrast, new orders in the consumer goods sector were down 5.8% compared with a month earlier. 

New foreign orders rose by 5.1%, with new orders from the euro area increasing by 5.9% and orders from the rest of the world by 4.6%. Domestic orders remained unchanged.

 

Turnover in July 2024 down 2.3% on the previous month

According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) in July 2024 was down 2.3% on the previous month. The calendar adjusted turnover was 5.6% lower in July 2024 than in July 2023. After revision of the provisional data, there was a decrease of 0.5% in June 2024 from May 2024 (provisional figure: -0.9%).

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.

New orders and turnover in manufacturing are recorded and evaluated in accordance with the "Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008)". Information on new orders is collected only in selected branches (only in German) of manufacturing. The rates of change are based on the price adjusted indices of new orders and of turnover 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.

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 and long time series are available in the GENESIS-Online database (42151-0004 indices of new orders, 42151-0008 indices of new orders excluding large-scale orders, and 42152-0004 turnover indices).

A dossier on the "Short-term indicators" page of the Federal Statistical Office's website provides an analysis of the relationship between material shortages, new orders, production and prices in industry. Detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.

Information on new orders in manufacturing is 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, the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.