Industrial Production Orders in Germany Show Slight Growth in April, Driven by Electronics and Machinery Sectors
According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the real, seasonally and calendar-adjusted order intake in the manufacturing sector in April 2025 increased by 0.6 percent compared to March 2025. Without large orders, the order intake rose by 0.3 percent. In the less volatile three-month comparison, the order intake from February to April 2025 was 0.5 percent higher than in the preceding three months and without large orders, it rose by 1.3 percent.
The significant growth in the manufacturing sector in April 2025 was largely driven by a substantial increase in the production of data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, which saw new orders 21.5 percent higher than in the previous month due to several large orders. The growth in orders also came from the ship and aircraft building industry, which saw a 7.1 percent increase and the metal products sector, which rose by 4.4 percent. However, the overall result was negatively impacted by declines in the production of electrical equipment, which fell by 9.2 percent and machinery, which decreased by 4.2 percent. The pharmaceutical industry also saw a 14.1 percent decline in new orders, following a 16.2 percent increase in the previous month.
Investment goods saw a 4.1 percent increase in order intake in April 2025, while the order intake for intermediate and consumer goods fell by 3.4 and 5.9 percent, respectively.
Foreign orders decreased by 0.3 percent, with orders from the Eurozone increasing by 0.5 percent, while those from outside the Eurozone fell by 0.9 percent. Domestic orders, on the other hand, rose by 2.2 percent.
The real turnover in the manufacturing sector was 1.5 percent lower in April 2025 than in the previous month and 1.0 percent lower than in the same month of the previous year. For March 2025, the revised preliminary data showed a 2.3 percent increase compared to February 2025, following an initial estimate of a 2.2 percent increase, according to Destatis.