New Industrial Order Book Figures Released, Suggesting a Slight Increase
Preliminary statistics from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) indicate that the real, seasonally and calendar-adjusted order book in the manufacturing sector rose by 0.1% in November 2024 compared to October 2024. In a year-on-year comparison, the order book in November 2024 was 0.7% lower than in the same month of the previous year, when adjusted for calendar effects.
The slight positive development in the order book can largely be attributed to the growth in the automotive industry, which saw a 3.2% increase in the same period, seasonally and calendar-adjusted. In contrast, the machinery and the “other vehicle manufacturing” sectors, including aircraft, ships, and military vehicles, recorded declines of 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
Domestic orders decreased by 0.3% in November 2024 compared to the previous month, while foreign orders increased by the same margin.
The stock of orders from domestic and foreign sources is a key indicator of the manufacturing sector’s future production and demand. The data also provides insight into the performance of various industries and the overall health of the economy.
The order book’s lead time, a measure of how many months of production are required to clear the existing orders, remained unchanged at 7.3 months in November 2024, compared to the previous month. The lead time for manufacturers of investment goods, however, decreased to 9.9 months, while the lead times for producers of consumer and intermediate goods remained at 4.1 and 3.6 months, respectively.