Press release No. 389 of 6 November 2026
Production in industry
September 2026 (in real terms, provisional):
+0.7% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+0.4% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)
August 2026 (in real terms, revised):
+1.0% on the previous month (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+0.7% on the same month a year earlier (calendar adjusted)
WIESBADEN – Production in industry in real terms (price adjusted) was up 0.7% in September 2026 month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional data provided by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that production was 0.4% lower in the 3rd quarter of 2026 than in the 2nd quarter of 2026. Compared with September 2025, production was up 0.4% in September 2026 after adjustment for calendar effects. After revision of the provisional results, production (seasonally and calendar adjusted) increased by 1.0% in August 2026 compared with July 2026 (provisional figure: +2.0%). The relatively large revision is due to additional data provided by businesses in the construction industry in the context of their advance turnover tax returns.
Significant increase in production in the automotive industry
The positive development of production in September 2026 was primarily attributable to the growth observed in the automotive industry (+17.1% on the previous month, seasonally and calendar adjusted). In the two previous months, production in this sector was at a low level due, in part, to production changeovers and factory holidays. The increase in the pharmaceutical industry, which registered growth of 8.0% after two weaker months, also had a positive impact on the overall result. By contrast, the decrease in production in the construction industry (-2.6%) had a negative impact. Production in the manufacture of machinery and equipment also declined (-6.5%), following the increase of 5.8% registered here in August 2026.
In September 2026, production in industry excluding energy and construction was up 1.7% from August 2026 after seasonal and calendar adjustment, with the production of capital goods increasing by 3.0%, consumer goods production increasing by 0.8% and intermediate goods production up 0.1%. Outside of industry, energy production declined by 1.2%.
Compared with September 2025, production in industry excluding energy and construction was up 0.3% after calendar adjustment.
Production up in energy-intensive industrial branches
Production in energy-intensive industrial branches increased by 0.8% in September 2026 from August 2026, after adjustment for seasonal and calendar effects. The three-month on three-month comparison showed that production in energy-intensive industrial branches in the 3rd quarter of 2026 was 3.5% lower than in the 2nd quarter of 2026. Adjusted for calendar effects, production in energy-intensive industrial branches was down 1.9% in September 2026 compared with September 2025. An analysis on the Production index for energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page of the Federal Statistical Office’s website.
Note: Revision of monthly output in construction and in the manufacture of other transport equipment
As of reporting month September 2026, the monthly production figures in "construction" (Section F) and the "manufacture of other transport equipment" (Division 30 of the WZ), together with all aggregates calculated on the basis of these figures, have been revised retrospectively from the reporting month of January 2021 onwards. This revision is due to a technical error in the calculation of the production index. The differences for the month-on-month change rates for the overall index as a result of the revisions range between +0.1 and -0.1 percentage points.
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.
The rates of change are based on the production index for industry. 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 structure of the Product Classification for Production Statistics (GP) forms the basis for collecting the data underlying the production index. In reporting month January 2026, the new version of the Product Classification, 2026 edition (GP 2026) (only in German), replaced the 2019 edition (GP 2019), which had applied until then. The Classification of Economic Activities, 2008 edition (WZ 2008), which is used for the presentation of results, did not change as a result of the changeover to the new GP version; therefore, the breakdown by economic activity remains the same. Results at a higher aggregation level that are presented in this press release (2-digit items of the WZ and aggregates) also remain unchanged. The changeover to the new GP version only affects the internal allocation of produced goods to the 4-digit items of the Classification of Economic Activities.
The five branches referred to here as "energy-intensive" have particularly high energy demands in relation to their gross value added. In the reference year of 2021, they collectively accounted for 77% of total industrial energy consumption. Their proportion of industrial gross value added stood at 17%. In 2021, approximately 930,000 people were employed in roughly 7,000 industrial establishments of these branches in Germany.
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 (WZ 2008). 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:
Basic data and long time series on the production index in industry can be found in the table Indices of production in manufacturing (42153-0001) in the GENESIS-Online database. It contains the time series of the production index for energy-intensive industrial branches from 2005 onwards.
An analysis of the relationship between material shortages, new orders, production and prices in industry and detailed information on production in energy-intensive industrial branches (only in German) is available on the "Industry, manufacturing" page.
The production index 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.