Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that in March, factory orders fell by 0.4%, slowing compared to February (-0.8%, revised from +0.2%). Economists had expected a 0.1% decrease. Meanwhile, over the last three months (through March), factory orders decreased by 4.3% compared to the previous three months. However, when large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were 0.1% higher than in February 2024.
Destatis said that in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains), new orders fell by 2.3% m/m. Declining new orders in the manufacture of fabricated metal products (-4.5%) also drove down overall performance. Meanwhile, growth in new orders was recorded in the automotive industry (+1.1%) and the manufacture of electrical equipment (+5.9%).
As for sectors, new orders fell in the capital goods sector (-0.4% m/m) and the intermediate goods sector (-0.4% m/m). In the consumer goods sector, new orders increased by 0.7% compared to February.
Meanwhile, foreign orders rose by 2.0% m/m, while new orders from the euro area increased by 10.6%. By contrast, orders from the non-euro area dropped by 2.9%. Domestic orders declined by 3.6% m/m.