March 8, 2024

New orders in manufacturing:
January 2024 (in real terms, provisional):
-11.3% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-6.0% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

December 2023 (in real terms, revised):
+12.0% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+6.6% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

Real (price adjusted) new orders in manufacturing were down 11.3% in January 2024 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). After revision of the provisional results, this large decline was preceded by a 12.0% increase in December 2023 from November 2023 due to large-scale orders (provisional figure: +8.9%). The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders were 2.3% higher in the period from November 2023 to January 2024 than in the previous three months. The relatively large revision of December 2023 is based on late data deliveries by establishments of several economic branches.

The sharp decline in January 2024 is attributable to the high volume of large-scale orders in December 2023. In January 2024, the volume of large-scale orders was back to an average level. This base effect is particularly pronounced in the manufacture of electrical equipment (-33.2%), other transport equipment (in particular, aircraft, ships, trains; -27.3%) and fabricated metal products (-14.5%). New orders in the manufacture of machinery and equipment dropped by 4.7% in January 2024 after having fallen by as much as 4.9% in December 2023 from a month earlier. By contrast, new orders in the automotive industry were up 4.2% in January 2024 following a 5.8% decline in the month before.

In January 2024, new orders were down on the previous month in all three major groups, that is in the capital goods sector (-13.1%), the intermediate goods sector (-9.3%) and the consumer goods sector (-5.7%).

Foreign orders fell by 11.4%, with orders from the euro area declining by 25.7%. By contrast, orders from outside the euro area rose by 1.6%. Domestic orders declined by 11.2%.

Turnover in January 2024 down 2.0% on the previous month

According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) in January 2024 was down 2.0% on the previous month. The calendar adjusted turnover was 3.5% lower than in January 2023. After revision of the provisional data, there was an increase of 1.3% in December 2023 from November 2023 (provisional figure: -0.1%). The revision in December 2023 is due to late reporting by establishments in several branches of economic activity.

Source: DESTATIS
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