Arbeiter in einem Werk stehen für Auftragseingang im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe.

© Monty Rakusen/cultura/Corbis

According to the Federal Statistical Office [1] , new manufacturing orders fell between March and April by 0.2%. [2] Demand for capital goods increased by 0.2%, whereas demand for consumer goods fell by 1.0%. Demand for consumer goods rose by 1.4%. Excluding large orders, order activity rose by 1.5%. In the two-month comparison of March/April versus January/February, orders increased by 4.6%. Adjusted for large orders, the increase was slightly smaller (+4.2%).

The above figures show that new manufacturing orders in Germany are stabilising at a high level. For the seventh consecutive month, they exceed the level of February 2020, the month preceding the outbreak of the pandemic. The latest flat development was caused by lower domestic demand (-4.3%) that coincided with a rise in orders from abroad (+2.7%).

A closer look at individual sectors also reveals a mixed picture:
New orders in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries fell (-2.1%/-7.2%), whereas the large automotive sector saw its new orders expand by 3.4%.

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[1] Press release by the Federal Statistical Office of 7 June 2021.
[2] All figures are based on provisional data and have been adjusted for price, calendar day and seasonal factors (X13 JDemetra+ procedure).