Press release No. 235 of 6 July 2026

New orders in manufacturing
May 2026 (in real terms, provisional):
+1.9% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+6.2% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

April 2026 (in real terms, revised):
-3.2% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+2.1% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

WIESBADEN – Real (price adjusted) new orders in manufacturing were up 1.9% in May 2026 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). When large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were 1.0% higher than in the previous month. The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders in the period from March to May 2026 were 0.2% lower than in the previous three months; when large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were up 4.1% in the same period. After revision of the provisional data, new orders in April 2026 decreased by 3.2% on March 2026 (provisional figure: -3.8%).

The positive development of new orders in manufacturing in May 2026 was essentially attributable to the substantial growth in the "manufacture of other transport equipment" sector (aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles), where new orders were up 85.0% on the previous month due to several large-scale orders. The increase in new orders observed in the manufacture of machinery and equipment (+3.7%) and the manufacture of electrical equipment (+5.7%) also had a positive impact on the overall result. The declines registered in the automotive industry (-3.8%) and in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (-7.8%) had a negative effect, however.

In the case of capital goods, new orders in May 2026 were up 2.2% month on month and rose by 1.4% for intermediate goods. New orders for consumer goods grew by 2.4%.

Foreign orders were up 2.2% in May 2026, with orders from the euro area increasing by 11.2% and orders from outside the euro area declining by 3.2%. Domestic orders rose by 1.3%.

Turnover in May 2026 up 1.8% on the previous month

According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) in May 2026 was up 1.8% on the previous month. Compared with May 2025, the calendar adjusted turnover was 4.2% higher. After revision of the provisional data, there was an increase of 0.1% in April 2026 from March 2026; the provisional result was therefore confirmed.

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 or quarter. 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.

New orders and turnover in manufacturing are recorded and evaluated in accordance with the "Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008)". Information on new orders is only collected in selected branches (only in German) of manufacturing. The rates of change are based on the price adjusted indices of new orders and of turnover 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.

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 and long time series are available in the GENESIS-Online database (42151-0004 indices of new orders, 42151-0008 indices of new orders excluding large-scale orders, and 42152-0004 turnover indices).

A dossier on the "Short-term indicators" page of the Federal Statistical Office's website provides an analysis of the relationship between material shortages, new orders, production and prices in industry. Detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.

Information on new orders in manufacturing can also be found on the "Economic Dashboard" (www.dashboard-konjunktur.de) (only in German). In this data portal, the Federal Statistical Office brings together high-frequency indicators from official statistics producers and other data providers on the topics of the economy, finance, the labour market, construction and energy. The "Economic Dashboard" also provides an early indicator for estimating turnover in manufacturing (only in German). First turnover data are therefore already available 20 days after the end of the reference month.