Press release No. 276 of 17 July 2024

Stock of orders in manufacturing, May 2024
-0.4%, in real terms, on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-5.4%, in real terms, on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

Range of the stock of orders
7.2 months

WIESBADEN – The real (price adjusted) stock of orders in manufacturing was down 0.4% in May 2024 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The calendar adjusted stock of orders was 5.4% lower in May 2024 than in May 2023.

 

The decline in the stock of orders in May 2024 was again attributable to the development in the automotive industry. In this sector, the stock of orders was down 0.8% from April 2024 after seasonal and calendar adjustment, declining for the 16th month in succession. The declines witnessed in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (-0.9%) and the manufacture of fabricated metal products (-0.9%) also negatively impacted the overall result. By contrast, the growth recorded in the manufacture of electrical equipment (+1.0%) had a positive effect on the stock of orders.

Unfilled domestic orders in May 2024 were down 0.4% on April 2024, and the stock of foreign orders also decreased by 0.4%.

Producers of capital goods saw the stock of orders decline by 0.6%. The stock of orders increased by 0.2% in the intermediate goods sector and by 1.6% in the area of consumer goods.

Range of the stock of orders increased to 7.2 months

Compared with the previous month, the range of the stock of orders rose to 7.2 months in May 2024 (April 2024: 7.1 months). The increase in the range of the stock of orders despite a declining stock of orders is due to the weaker development of average turnover in the last twelve months compared with the development of the stock of orders. For producers of capital goods and consumer goods, the range remained unchanged at 9.7 months and 3.5 months, respectively. It increased to 4.1 months (April 2024: 4.0 months) for intermediate goods producers.

Assuming turnover remains constant and no new orders are received, the range indicates the number of months local units would, in theory, have to produce goods in order to fill all orders on hand. It is calculated as the ratio between the current stock of orders and average turnover of the last twelve months.

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 of seasonally and calendar adjusted figures with those of the previous month. These reflect short-term economic trends. Year-on-year comparisons of calendar adjusted results enable long-term comparisons of levels and are not influenced by seasonal fluctuations or calendar effects. The results of month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably due to the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine.

The stock of orders comprises all new orders received by the end of the reference month which have neither generated any turnover nor been cancelled by that time. The rates of change are based on the price adjusted index of the stock of orders in manufacturing. The average figure for 2021 is used as the basis of the index and set to 100 index points (2021 = 100). The X13 JDemetra+ method was used for calendar and seasonal adjustment. The stock of orders is covered and evaluated in accordance with the "Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008)". In the process, information on the stock of orders and on new orders is only collected in selected branches (only in German) of manufacturing.

For better readability, this press release uses a short form for the names of some economic branches which differs from the designations in the "Classification of Economic Activities (2008 edition)". An overview of these short forms (only in German) is provided on the "Industry, manufacturing" page on the website of the Federal Statistical Office.

More information:

Detailed data are available from the GENESIS-Online database (42155-0004 indices of the stock of orders and 42113-0001 Ranges of the stock of orders).

Detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.