Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that in December, factory orders rose by 8.9% after remaining unchanged in November (revised from +0.3%). It was the strongest growth since June 2020. Economists had expected orders to remain unchanged from November. In the production of other vehicles (airplanes, ships, trains, etc.), new orders increased by 110.9% m/m. In addition, a sharp increase in orders was recorded in the metal production sector (+18.0%) and the electrical equipment sector (+38.7%). At the same time, in the automotive industry (-14.7%), mechanical engineering (-5.3%) and chemical industry (-3.7%), the volume of new orders decreased compared to November.
Meanwhile, over the last three months (through December), factory orders rose by 0.1% compared to the previous three months. Destatis said that in December, new factory orders, excluding large-scale orders, fell by 2.2% compared to November. For the whole of 2023, new factory orders decreased by 5.9% compared to the previous year.
As for sectors, new orders rose in the capital goods sector (+10.9% m/m) and the intermediate goods sector (-8.3% m/m), but fell in the consumer goods sector (-1.3% m/m),
Meanwhile, foreign orders rose by 8.5% compared to November, while new orders from the euro area increased by 34.5% and orders from the rest of the world fell by 7.5%. Domestic orders increased by 9.4% on a monthly basis.