Development of new manufacturing orders in December 2022

According to the Federal Statistical Office¹ , new orders rose by 3.2% in December compared to the previous month.² This means that orders did not continue the downward trend observed since February last year. Excluding large orders, there was a slight decline of 0.6%. Overall, latest figures show the level of new orders, adjusted for workday fluctuations, at 10.1% below the level seen in the same month a year before.

Compared to the previous month, both domestic and foreign demand increased (+5.7% and +1.2% respectively). Orders from the euro area rose particularly strongly, by +9.8%, while orders from the non-euro area fell by 3.8 %. Within the manufacturing sector, the development again varied: while the important motor vehicle/vehicle parts sector recorded 3.0% less incoming orders, the equally important mechanical engineering sector recorded an increase of 3.5%. The increase in orders for electrical equipment was particularly strong (+34.2%). Sectors such as IT/optics (+9.3%), metal products (+5.1%) and metal production (+4.6%) also reported noticeable increases. On the other hand, orders in the sectors of other vehicles (-8.0%) as well as chemical (-2.7%) and pharmaceutical products (-4.5%) decreased noticeably compared to the previous month.

Demand in the manufacturing sector has stabilised again somewhat towards the end of 2022. The latest order data in the industry sector, as well as the improvement in the business climate in recent months, indicate that the economic slowdown is likely to be milder in the winter half-year.

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¹ Press release by the Federal Statistical Office of 6 February 2023.
² Unless stated otherwise, all figures are based on provisional data and have been adjusted for price, calendar day and seasonal factors (X13 JDemetra+ procedure).