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DE: Manufacturing Orders
| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Month over Month | -2.0% | -3.5% to 1.0% | -3.8% | 5.0% | 4.5% |
| Year over Year | 4.8% | 4.3% to 4.9% | 1.5% | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Highlights
Germany's manufacturing sector experienced a notable setback in April 2026, with new orders falling by 3.8 percent month-over-month, reversing much of the strong 4.5 percent gain recorded in March. The decline was broad-based and occurred even after excluding large-scale orders, indicating a genuine weakening in underlying industrial demand rather than the impact of volatile one-off contracts. Over the year, manufacturing orders remained 1.5 percent higher than a year earlier.
The monthly contraction was driven primarily by key industrial pillars, including the automotive (minus 5.3 percent), electrical equipment (minus 16.3 percent), and machinery (minus 7.4 percent) sectors, highlighting persistent pressures on Germany's export-oriented manufacturing base. Demand weakened across all major goods categories, with consumer goods experiencing the sharpest decline (minus 6.7 percent).
External demand was a significant drag on performance. Foreign orders fell by 4.2 percent, largely reflecting an 11.1 percent drop in orders from the euro area, although demand from non-eurozone markets rose modestly (0.8 percent). Domestic orders also declined by 2.9 percent, suggesting broad-based softness in economic activity.
Despite weaker order inflows, manufacturing turnover increased slightly by 0.1 percent, indicating that firms continue to draw on existing order backlogs. However, unless demand conditions improve, the decline in new orders may signal weaker industrial production and economic growth in the months ahead. These updates take the RPI to minus 4 and the RPI-P to 12, meaning that economic activities continue to perform in line with market expectations in Germany.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Orders expected to retreat by 2.0 percent on the month in April after rising 5.0 percent in March.
Definition
Manufacturers orders are a leading indicator for industrial production. The figures are calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office and represent the value of all orders for the delivery of self-made products confirmed by industrial enterprises with 50 or more employees in the respective reporting period. The results are broken down by both sector and region of origin (domestic and foreign split into euro area and non-euro area). Monthly volatility can be very high so moving averages give a much better guide to underlying trends.
Description
Manufacturers orders data are keenly awaited by analysts each month. The data present a detailed breakdown by various sectors and a reading of the pulse of a major sector of the economy. Like the PPI, manufacturing orders data exclude construction, which is the preferred Eurostat measure.
The manufacturers orders data rank among the most important early indicators for monitoring and analyzing German economic wellbeing. Because these data are available for both foreign and domestic orders they are a good indication of the relative strength of the domestic and export economies. The results are compiled each month in the form of value indexes to measure the nominal development of demand and in the form of volume indexes to illustrate the price-adjusted development of demand. Unlike in the U.S., orders data are not collected for all manufacturing classifications - but only those parts in which the make-to-order production plays a prominent role. Not included are, for example, mining, quarrying and the food industry.