Germany’s manufacturing sector experienced a slight decrease in new orders during May 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Seasonally and calendar-adjusted, orders fell by 1.4 percent compared to April 2025.
Excluding large orders, the underlying order intake declined by 3.1 percent month-on-month. However, when considering a three-month trend from March to May 2025, total orders showed a modest increase of 2.1 percent, with the exclusion of large orders registering a 1.9 percent rise during the same period.
April 2025 saw a revised increase of 1.6 percent in orders compared to March, up from the initial estimate of 0.6 percent. This significant revision in April was attributed to a later reporting of orders within the automotive industry.
The negative performance in May was primarily driven by a sharp decrease in new orders for data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, which saw a seasonally and calendar-adjusted drop of 17.7 percent compared to the previous month. This sector had experienced a surge in large orders in April 2025.
Further contributing to the overall decline were decreases in orders for electrical equipment (-6.2 percent) and metal production and processing (-5.1 percent). Conversely, orders for metal products increased significantly by 18.2 percent and the automotive component sector experienced a gain of 6.8 percent.
Investments in goods saw a 0.9 percent decrease in orders during May, while orders for intermediate goods fell by 3.4 percent. In contrast, orders for consumer goods rose by 3.1 percent.
Foreign orders increased by 2.9 percent, with orders from outside the Eurozone rising by 9.0 percent, offsetting a 6.5 percent decline in orders from within the Eurozone. Domestic orders, however, experienced a substantial decrease of 7.8 percent.
Real turnover in the manufacturing sector also declined by 1.9 percent month-on-month after seasonal and calendar adjustments. Compared to May 2024, turnover was down by 1.7 percent when calendar adjustments were applied. For April 2025, a revised decrease of 1.4 percent was reported compared to March, slightly lower than the initial estimate of a 1.5 percent decline.