Development of new manufacturing orders in May 2021

According to the Federal Statistical Office[1], new manufacturing orders fell by 3.7% between April and May.[2] Demand for capital goods decreased by 4.6% and the order volume for intermediate goods was down 3.6%. By contrast, demand for consumer good rose by 3.9%. Excluding large orders, order activity and new orders dropped by 3.7%.

In the two-month comparison of April/May versus February/March, orders increased by 0.6%. Adjusted for large orders, the increase was higher (+1.4%).

It is the first time this year that new orders have fallen from one month to the next. The decline is driven by weaker foreign demand (-6.7%). Orders from outside the eurozone were particularly affected (-9.3%), especially in the automotive industry (-14.4%).

However, this needs to be seen primarily as an adjustment from the extraordinary growth rates seen in April (automotive: +10.6%; non-eurozone overall: +4.0%). Parallel to this, domestic orders saw a slight increase (+0.9%). This was due not least to higher order volumes recorded by the important mechanical engineering sector (+0.8%).

Overall, the volume of new orders remains above pre-crisis level.

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