German industry has surprisingly started the new year with an increase in orders. In January, incoming orders rose by 1.0 percent compared to December, according to the Federal Statistical Office. On the other hand, analysts had expected a decline of 0.7 percent on average. The already strong increase in orders in the previous month was subsequently increased from 3.2 to 3.4 percent.
“At first glance, a good start to the year,” commented economist Jens-Oliver Niklasch from Landesbank Baden-Württemberg. Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, also commented on the figures with confidence: “Incoming orders are off to a good start in the new year.”
At second glance, the development is even better, because without taking into account the volatile large orders, growth of 2.9 percent is recorded.
Fewer orders from the euro zone
In detail, however, the development turned out to be mixed. While domestic demand weakened significantly with a minus of 5.3 percent, demand from abroad presented itself from its strong side with plus 5.5 percent. However, fewer orders came from abroad from the euro zone, but significantly more orders from the rest of the world.
There is also no uniform picture by product group: While capital goods such as machines were ordered significantly more, orders for intermediate goods and consumer goods fell significantly.
German industry has had a turbulent year. In 2022, companies not only suffered from the multiple upheavals caused by the Ukraine war. The ongoing delivery problems in world trade – an economic consequence of the corona pandemic – also weighed heavily on the industry. Recently, however, these bottlenecks have tended to decrease.
