Development of new manufacturing orders in August 2021

According to the Federal Statistical Office [1] , new manufacturing orders fell by 7.7% in August compared to the previous month after increases of 4.6% and 4.9% respectively in June and July [2]. The manufacturers of capital goods recorded the sharpest drop (-11.1%). New orders of intermediate and consumer goods declined by 2.8% and 2.7% respectively. Excluding large orders, order activity dropped by 5.1%.

In the two-month comparison of July/August versus May/June, orders increased by 3.1%. Adjusted for large orders, there was, however, a 1.3% fall in orders.

After an upward trend since the beginning of the year, new manufacturing orders fell sharply. This was primarily due to weak foreign demand (-9.5 %), particularly from outside the eurozone (-15.2 %). Domestic demand, however, also declined (-5.2 %). In the important motor vehicles sector, new orders fell by 12.0%, while mechanical engineering, which is equally important, recorded only a slight decline (-1.0%). Large orders in the previous month and the fact that several manufacturers had their company holidays in August this year may have had an impact on the recent weak demand. On the whole, new manufacturing orders remained at a high level, recording significant increases compared to both the pre-crisis month of February 2020 and to January 2021 (around +8 ½ % and +4 % respectively).

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[1] Press release by the Federal Statistical Office of 6 October 2021.
[2] All figures are based on provisional data and have been adjusted for price, calendar day and seasonal factors (X13 JDemetra+ procedure).