Press release No. 417 of 7 November 2024
Exports (calendar and seasonally adjusted exports of goods), September 2024
128.2 billion euros
-1.7% on the previous month
-0.2% on the same month a year earlier
Imports (calendar and seasonally adjusted imports of goods), September 2024
111.3 billion euros
+2.1% on the previous month
+1.3% on the same month a year earlier
Foreign trade balance (calendar and seasonally adjusted), September 2024
+17.0 billion euros
WIESBADEN – In September 2024, German exports were down 1.7% and imports were up 2.1% on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis compared with August 2024. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that exports decreased by 0.2% and imports rose by 1.3% compared with September 2023.
After calendar and seasonal adjustment, Germany exported goods to the total value of 128.2 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 111.3 billion euros in September 2024. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 17.0 billion euros in September 2024. The calendar and seasonally adjusted surplus stood at 21.4 billion euros in August 2024 and 18.6 billion euros in September 2023.
Trade with EU countries
On a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis, Germany exported goods to the value of 69.4 billion euros to the Member States of the European Union (EU) in September 2024, while it imported goods to the value of 57.8 billion euros from these countries in the same period. Compared with August 2024, calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to EU countries dropped by 1.8% and imports from these countries rose by 1.6%. The value of the goods exported to euro area countries in September 2024 totalled 48.1 billion euros (-2.4%), and the value of the goods imported from these countries was 38.1 billion euros (+2.2%). In September 2024, goods to the value of 21.3 billion euros (-0.3%) 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 (+0.5 %), on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis.
Trade with non-EU countries
Exports of goods to countries outside the EU (third countries) amounted to 58.8 billion euros in September 2024, while imports from these countries totalled 53.5 billion euros, on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis. Compared with August 2024, exports to third countries declined by 1.6% and imports from those countries increased by 2.6%.
Most German exports in September 2024 went to the United States. After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports of goods to the United States were up 4.8% compared with August 2024, with the value of exports to the United States rising to 14.2 billion euros. Exports to the People's Republic of China decreased by 3.7% to 7.1 billion euros and exports to the United Kingdom fell by 4.9% to 6.4 billion euros.
Most imports in September 2024 came from the People's Republic of China. Goods to the value of 14.1 billion euros were imported from there, which represented a 5.6% increase compared with the previous month, after calendar and seasonal adjustment. Imports from the United States decreased by 0.3% to 7.7 billion euros. Imports from the United Kingdom dropped by 0.6% to 2.9 billion euros during the same period.
After seasonal and calendar adjustment, exports to the Russian Federation increased by 3.6% to 0.6 billion euros in September 2024 from August 2024. Compared with September 2023, when exports to Russia were already at a very low level as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, they were up 5.6%. Imports from Russia rose by 20.1% to 0.1 billion euros in September 2024 from August 2024, and were down 34.4% compared with September 2023.
Original foreign trade values (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects)
Germany exported goods to the value of 130.1 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 111.6 billion euros on a nominal basis (not adjusted for calendar or seasonal effects) in September 2024. Compared with September 2023, exports in September 2024 therefore decreased by 0.3% and imports rose by 1.3%. The unadjusted foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 18.5 billion euros in September 2024. In September 2023, the surplus was 20.3 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 | September 2024 | January to September 2024 | Percentage change from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2024 | January to September 2023 | |||
| billion euros | % | |||
| Total exports | 128.2 | 1175.5 | -1.7 | -1.0 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 69.4 | 638.4 | -1.8 | -1.7 |
| Euro area | 48.1 | 444.4 | -2.4 | -2.5 |
| Non-euro area | 21.3 | 194.0 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| Third countries | 58.8 | 537.1 | -1.6 | -0.2 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.6 | 5.7 | 3.6 | -18.5 |
| Total imports | 111.3 | 988.6 | 2.1 | -4.2 |
| including: | ||||
| EU Member States | 57.8 | 519.4 | 1.6 | -3.9 |
| Euro area | 38.1 | 344.2 | 2.2 | -4.6 |
| Non-euro area | 19.7 | 175.2 | 0.5 | -2.7 |
| Third countries | 53.5 | 469.2 | 2.6 | -4.4 |
| including: | ||||
| Russian Federation | 0.1 | 1.4 | 20.1 | -53.6 |
| 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 | 133.0 | 0.6 | 127.7 | 13.6 | 117.7 | -0.7 | 117.0 | 9.0 |
| February | 137.2 | 3.2 | 134.1 | 6.6 | 120.7 | 2.5 | 116.3 | 2.8 | |
| March | 131.0 | -4.5 | 148.3 | 5.3 | 113.8 | -5.7 | 124.1 | -5.5 | |
| April | 131.7 | 0.5 | 123.6 | -1.2 | 114.3 | 0.4 | 109.3 | -11.2 | |
| May | 131.8 | 0.1 | 132.4 | -3.2 | 116.8 | 2.2 | 118.2 | -10.5 | |
| June | 133.2 | 1.1 | 140.4 | 1.6 | 114.1 | -2.3 | 117.8 | -9.1 | |
| July | 130.9 | -1.7 | 127.0 | -2.0 | 112.0 | -1.9 | 108.5 | -12.6 | |
| August | 130.7 | -0.1 | 124.6 | -4.6 | 112.5 | 0.4 | 108.2 | -16.6 | |
| September | 128.4 | -1.7 | 130.5 | -9.6 | 109.8 | -2.4 | 110.2 | -18.5 | |
| October | 128.2 | -0.2 | 132.1 | -4.0 | 109.3 | -0.5 | 113.1 | -14.1 | |
| November | 131.9 | 2.9 | 140.5 | -4.0 | 110.8 | 1.4 | 117.1 | -12.2 | |
| December | 127.5 | -3.3 | 114.2 | -9.8 | 105.1 | -5.2 | 97.1 | -15.6 | |
2024 | January | 133.0 | 4.3 | 129.4 | 1.4 | 108.1 | 2.9 | 108.3 | -7.4 |
| February | 131.2 | -1.4 | 132.6 | -1.1 | 110.2 | 1.9 | 108.8 | -6.5 | |
| March | 132.4 | 0.9 | 135.7 | -8.5 | 111.3 | 1.0 | 112.9 | -9.0 | |
| April | 133.9 | 1.1 | 138.8 | 12.3 | 112.6 | 1.2 | 115.9 | 6.1 | |
| May | 130.4 | -2.6 | 128.0 | -3.3 | 106.9 | -5.1 | 106.4 | -10.0 | |
| June | 127.2 | -2.4 | 128.4 | -8.5 | 107.3 | 0.3 | 107.2 | -9.0 | |
| July | 128.9 | 1.3 | 133.5 | 5.1 | 111.9 | 4.3 | 113.9 | 5.0 | |
| August | 130.4 | 1.2 | 120.4 | -3.4 | 109.0 | -2.6 | 102.4 | -5.4 | |
| September | 128.2 | -1.7 | 130.1 | -0.3 | 111.3 | 2.1 | 111.6 | 1.3 | |
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 at www.dashboard-deutschland.de (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the labour market, construction, housing, energy and Ukraine. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor (Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft) (only in German) tool for real-time economic monitoring.
Important information regarding the GENESIS-Online database:
After leaving the beta phase, our database's new user interface has been available as the main interface version since 5 November 2024. The new interface offers faster data retrieval and intuitive table search and customisation options. There have also been changes to the structure of the machine-readable flat file (CSV) format and the data output format for table downloads. For further details and other important information on the release, please see the info page of the new GENESIS-Online database.
