German factory orders fell sharply in August

According to provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), real (price-adjusted) order intake in manufacturing was 7.7% lower in August 2021, seasonally and calendar adjusted, than in July 2021. Economists had expected a 2.1% decrease. The sharp decline follows strong increases in the previous months of July 2021 (+4.9 %) and June 2021 (+4.6%), which were sometimes caused by large orders in other vehicle construction (aircraft, ships, trains, etc.). Excluding large orders, new orders in manufacturing fell by 5.1% in August 2021.

Furthermore, in August 2021, new orders for the production of motor vehicles and parts fell by 12.0%, while metal production and processing fell by 9.6%. Manufacturers complain about supply bottlenecks in intermediate products.

Compared to February 2020, the month before the start of the restrictions due to the corona pandemic in Germany, order intake was still 8.5% higher in August 2021, seasonally and calendar adjusted. Compared to the same month last year, August 2020, when order intake was affected by the pandemic, it was 11.7% higher on a calendar-adjusted basis.