New orders in manufacturing in September 2023: +0.2% on the previous month - German Federal Statistical Office

Press release No. 426 of 6 November 2023

New orders in manufacturing:
September 2023 (in real terms, provisional):
+0.2% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-4.3% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

August 2023 (in real terms, revised):
+1.9% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-6.3% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

WIESBADEN – Real (price adjusted) new orders in manufacturing were up 0.2% in September 2023 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office ( Destatis ). The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders were 3.9% lower in the 3rd quarter of 2023 than in the 2nd quarter. New orders excluding large-scale orders were down 2.2% in September 2023 compared with the previous month. After revision of the provisional results, new orders in August 2023 increased by 1.9% compared with July 2023 (provisional figure: +3.9%). The unusually high revision for August 2023 is due to incorrectly reported data in the ‘manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products’ sector.

New orders in manufacturing were marked by strongly opposing trends in September 2023. With regard to order growth, much of the increase was due to the performance of the ‘manufacture of machinery and equipment’ sector (+8.5% on the previous month after seasonal and calendar adjustment). Increases in new orders recorded for the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (+8.5%) and the manufacture of basic metals (+8.7%) also had a positive impact on overall performance.

By contrast, the decline in new orders in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (-12.5%) had a particularly negative impact on the overall result. In this sector, new orders in August 2023 rose by 19.9% on the previous month. Declines observed in September in the automotive industry (-2.5%) and in the manufacture of other transport equipment (aircraft, ships, trains, etc.: -9.7%) also negatively impacted the overall result.

In September 2023, new orders were up on the previous month both in the intermediate goods sector (+0.9%) and the capital goods sector (+0.7%). There was a drop of 8.4% in the consumer goods sector.

Foreign orders were up 4.2%, with new orders from the euro area increasing by 6.2% and orders from the rest of the world by 2.9%. Domestic orders declined by 5.9%.

Turnover in September 2023 down 1.6% on the previous month

According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) in September 2023 was down 1.6% on the previous month. The calendar adjusted turnover was 2.3% lower than in September 2022. After revision of the provisional data, there was a decrease of 0.5% in August 2023 from July 2023 (provisional figure: +0.4%). Here, too, the considerable revision was caused by the incorrectly reported data mentioned above.

Methodological notes:

The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month or quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects. The results of month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably because of the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.

New orders and turnover in manufacturing are recorded and evaluated in accordance with the Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008). Information on new orders is collected only in selected branches (only in German) of manufacturing. The rates of change are based on the price adjusted indices of new orders and of turnover in manufacturing. The average figure for 2015 is used as the basis of the index and set to 100 index points (2015 = 100). X13 JDemetra+ was used for seasonal and calendar adjustment.

The manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (Division 29 of WZ) is referred to as the “automotive industry” in this press release.

More information:

Detailed data and long time series are available in the GENESIS-Online database (42151-0004 indices of new orders, 42151-0008 indices of new orders excluding large-scale orders, and 42152-0004 turnover indices).

A dossier on the "Short-term indicators" page of the Federal Statistical Office's website provides an analysis of the relationship between material shortages, new orders, production and prices in industry. Detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.

Information on new orders in manufacturing is also available on Dashboard Germany at www.dashboard-deutschland.de (in German only). This data portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, health and mobility. The portal also contains the Economic Pulse Monitor tool ( Pulsmesser für die Wirtschaft ) (only in German) for real-time economic monitoring.

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