German New Manufacturing Orders +3.0% M/M in March on Domestic and Foreign Demand

6 May 2021

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – German manufacturers reported a real, seasonally and calendar-adjusted increase in new orders in March of 3.0% on the month and 27.8% on the year, the German Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday.

Excluding bulk orders, the increase was 1.6%. Foreign demand posted a monthly rise of 1.6%, with a 4.9% increase in domestic orders. The strength in foreign orders included a 2.2% increase outside the euro area, while new orders from within the region rose 0.7%.

Across types of manufactured goods, new orders for consumer goods surged 8.5% on the month, while intermediate goods orders rose 2.8% and capital goods orders were up 2.5%.

The seasonally and calendar-adjusted index of new orders in manufacturing stood at 111.3 in March, the highest since December 2017. The index of domestic new manufacturing orders rose to 107.0, the highest since October 2017, while foreign orders climbed to 114.6, the highest since February 2018.

The Statistics Office revised up February’s monthly results for new manufacturing orders, which had been estimated as being up 1.2% but now stand at 1.4%.