In January 2026 the real volume of new orders received by the manufacturing sector fell 11.1 % when adjusted for seasonality and the calendar, compared with December 2025. If large orders are excluded, the decline is slightly smaller, at 0.4 % lower than the previous month, according to interim figures released by Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) on Monday.
The sharp drop reflects the unusually high levels recorded in December 2025, when orders – largely driven by large contracts – rose to their strongest point since February 2022. Over the three‑month period from November 2025 to January 2026 the total volume was 7.4 % higher than in the preceding three months; removed the large orders the increase was only 1.5 %. Data from the Saarland state, which were not available in time for the national calculation, were therefore estimated. In December 2025 the revised preliminary numbers showed a 6.4 % increase in orders compared with November 2025 (the provisional figure had been 7.8 %).
After the high inflow of large orders in December, January’s order intake in several manufacturing subsectors returned to more normal levels. Notably, new orders for metal production fell 39.4 % versus the preceding month, while December’s figure had registered a 29.7 % rise. The declines in machine building (‑13.5 %) and in metal manufacturing and processing (‑15.1 %) are attributed to the reduced volume of large orders in January. Conversely, positive momentum in the automotive industry (+10.4 %) and in other vehicle manufacturing – covering aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles (+9.2 %) – helped offset the downturn.
The order intake for fixed‑asset goods dropped 14.1 % in January 2026, intermediate goods fell 7.9 %, but consumer goods grew marginally by 0.1 %. Foreign orders shrank 7.1 % overall: 7.3 % from the Eurozone and 7.1 % from outside the Eurozone, while domestic orders fell 16.2 %.
Turnover in manufacturing, seasonally and calendar‑adjusted, was 1.5 % higher in January 2026 than the previous month, and 1.3 % above the calendar‑adjusted level seen in January 2025. In December 2025, after revision, sales fell 0.4 % from November (the provisional result had been a 1.4 % decline).