Factory orders in Germany dropped by 5.4% month-over-month in November 2024, a sharp decline compared to October’s 1.5% fall and worse than the expected flat result.
Germany's factory orders drop 5.4% in November
This was the steepest drop since August, primarily driven by a 58.4% plunge in orders for aircraft, ships, and trains, following substantial large-scale orders in October. Additionally, demand for pharmaceuticals (-7.2%) and essential metals (-1.2%) weakened.
In contrast, orders grew in the chemical industry (1.7%) and machinery (1.2%). New orders decreased for both capital goods (-9.4%) and consumer goods (-7.1%) but increased for intermediate goods (1.8%). Foreign orders fell by 10.8%, reflecting reduced demand from the Eurozone (-3.8%) and outside the Eurozone (-14.8%). On the other hand, domestic orders rose by 3.8%.
Factory orders up 0.2% in November, 1.7% over three months
Excluding large orders, incoming orders showed a slight increase of 0.2% from October. Over three months, from September to November, new orders were up by 1.7% compared to the previous three months.
