German Manufacturing Sector Sees Decrease in Stock of Orders, Driven by Motor Vehicles Industry

May 25, 2023

Stock of orders in manufacturing, March 2023
-1.3% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-1.2% on the same month of the previous year (calendar adjusted)

Range of the stock of orders
7.4 months

The real (price adjusted) stock of orders in manufacturing was 1.3% lower in March 2023 than in February 2023 on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, according to provisional results of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). In a quarterly comparison, the stock of orders decreased by 1.0% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

The negative development of the stock of orders is particularly due to the decline in the sector of manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers. This sector went down a seasonally and calendar adjusted 2.5% on the previous month. In contrast, the stock of orders in the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, went up 2.5%.

Unfilled foreign orders decreased by 1.4% in March 2023, while the stock of domestic orders fell by 1.2% compared to February 2023.

The stock of orders declined by 1.4% for manufacturers of capital goods and by 1.3% for manufacturers of intermediate goods. In the consumer goods sector, the stock of orders was 0.3% higher than in the previous month.

Overall, the stock of orders was a calendar adjusted 1.2% lower than in March 2022.

Range of the stock of orders decreased to 7.4 months

The range of the stock of orders fell to 7.4 months in March 2023 (February 2023: 7.5 months). The range declined for producers of capital goods to 10.5 months (February 2023: 10.7 months), remained unchanged for producers of intermediate goods by 3.8 months and it rose slightly for producers of consumer goods to 3.6 months (February 2023: 3,5 months).

The range indicates for how many months companies would theoretically have to produce goods until all orders on hand are fulfilled – assuming constant turnover and no new orders being received. It is calculated as the ratio of the current stock of orders and average turnover of the last 12 months in the respective branch.

Source: DESTATIS
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