Press release No. 192 of 6 May 2022

Production in industry March 2022 (provisional):
-3.9% on the previous month (price, seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-3.5% on the same month a year earlier (price and calendar adjusted)

February 2022 (revised)
+0.1% on the previous month (price, seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+3.1% on the same month a year earlier (price and calendar adjusted)

WIESBADEN – In March 2022,production in industry was down by 3.9% on the previous month on a price, seasonally and calendar adjusted basis according to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). A larger decrease was last recorded in April 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (-18.1% on March 2020). Compared with March 2021, the decrease in calendar adjusted production in industry amounted to 3.5%. Many enterprises still have problems completing their orders because of interruptions in supply chains, which is due to continuing Covid-19 crisis restrictions and the war in Ukraine. Just over 80% of the industrial enterprises surveyed complained of bottlenecks and problems in procuring intermediate products and raw materials in March 2022, according to the ifo Institute for Economic Research. That was almost as many as in December 2021, when a record high of just under 82% had been reached.

In March 2022, production in industry excluding energy and construction was down by 4.6% in seasonally and calendar adjusted terms. Within industry, the production of capital goods was down by 6.6%. The production of intermediate goods decreased by 3.8% and the production of consumer goods by 1.5%. Outside the industry, energy production in March 2022 was down 11.4% on the previous month, following a marked increase in February 2022 (revised result: +4,1% on January 2022). Fluctuations are mainly due to changes within energy production from wind power. Production in construction in March 2022 was up 1.1% on the previous month.

In February 2022, the corrected result on the production in industry showed an increase of 0.1% (provisional: +0.2%) from January 2022.

The rates of change relate to the production index for industry (2015 = 100). Seasonal and calendar adjustment was made using the X-13 JDemetra+ method.

Basic data and long time series on the production index in industry are also available in the table "Index of production in manufacturing" (42153-0001) in the GENESIS-Online database.

Methodological notes:

The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons with the previous month or previous quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. A calendar adjusted comparison with the previous year is intended to offer a long-term comparison of levels and is not subject to seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects. The results of month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably at present because of the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine. The results are also compared with the February 2020 figures in order to enable a direct comparison with the pre-crisis level.

The production index also forms part of the Crisis monitor (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), by means of which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the Covid-19 crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. It is also available on the “Corona statistics” webpage (www.destatis.de/corona) and in the Dashboard Germany (www.dashboard-deutschland.de), together with other indicators which can be used to assess the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dashboard Germany portal of the Federal Statistical Office combines up-to-date indicators of official statistics and indicators of other data providers on the topics of economy and finance as well as health and mobility.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related sanctions have an impact on many parts of the economy and society. We have compiled data and information on the subject for you on a special webpage. (only in german)