Press release No. 355 of 18 September 2024

Stock of orders in manufacturing, July 2024
+1.0%, in real terms, on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
-4.3%, in real terms, on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted) 

Range of the stock of orders
7.3 months 

WIESBADEN – The real (price adjusted) stock of orders in manufacturing was up 1.0% in July 2024 compared with June 2024 after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This was the first month-on-month increase in the stock of orders since December 2023. Compared with July 2023, the calendar adjusted stock of orders was down 4.3% in July 2024.

 

The increase in the stock of orders in July 2024 was mainly attributable to the development in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles), where the stock of orders was up 2.6% on the previous month due to several large-scale orders. The growth recorded in the manufacture of electrical equipment (+3.4%) also had a positive effect. By contrast, the decline reported in the manufacture of machinery and equipment (-1.0%) had a negative impact on the overall result. 

Unfilled domestic orders in July 2024 were up 2.1% on June 2024 and the stock of foreign orders rose by 0.4%. 

Producers of capital goods saw the stock of orders increase by 1.1%. Compared with the previous month, the stock of orders grew by 1.3% in the intermediate goods sector and by 0.5% in the area of consumer goods. 

Range of the stock of orders up to 7.3 months 

The range of the stock of orders rose to 7.3 months in July 2024 (June 2024: 7.2 months). The range increased from 9.7 months to 9.9 months for producers of capital goods. For producers of intermediate goods and consumer goods, the range remained unchanged at 4.1 months and 3.5 months, respectively. 

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.