Development of new manufacturing orders in December 2023

According to the Federal Statistical Office¹, new manufacturing orders increased markedly in December compared to the preceding month (+8.9%), following stagnation in November (0.0%) and a noticeable decrease in October (-3.8%). However, the two-month comparison shows that new orders in December were once again characterised by fluctuations in the volume of large orders; excluding these, order volumes fell by 2.2%. Overall, the increase in new orders in December is largely attributable to a strong rise in demand from the eurozone (+34.5%), but also in domestic orders (+9.4%). By contrast, orders from outside the eurozone decreased by 7.5%.

In December, the development in new orders differed between the various sectors of the manufacturing industry, with other vehicle manufacturing and electric equipment recording strong increases in order volume (110.9% and 38.7% respectively). New orders in other sectors such as metal products (+18.0%), pharmaceuticals (+8.2%) and metal production (+4.9%) also developed favourably. By contrast, the important motor vehicles and parts (-14.7%), mechanical engineering (-5.3%) and chemical products (-3.7%) sectors each saw a decline in new orders.

The appreciable rise in new orders in the manufacturing industry in December means that the downward trend seen in the preceding months, which had actually been caused to a significant degree by volatile large orders, has stopped. The more meaningful quarter-on-quarter comparison, however, shows that new orders remained at roughly the same level in Q4 as they had been in Q3 (+0.1%). Excluding large orders, the order volume fell by 2.6% between Q3 and Q4. The sentiment indicators are currently suggesting that the industrial sector will perform weakly in Q1. It is expected that the economy will gradually pick up speed over the year as a domestic recovery sets in.

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¹ Press release by the Federal Statistical Office of 6 February 2024.