Development of production in the manufacturing industry – reporting month October 2024

According to the Federal Statistical Office, production in the manufacturing industry fell by 1.0% in October compared with the previous month, after price, calendar and seasonal adjustments. According to revised data from the Federal Statistical Office, output in September had already fallen by 2.0% compared with the previous month. The renewed decline was due in particular to a slump in the energy sector (-8.9%). By contrast, industrial output fell only slightly (-0.3%). In the construction industry, production remained stable (±0.0%).

At the level of the individual economic sectors, a negative development can be observed across a broad front: major areas such as mechanical engineering (-1.1%), manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts (-1.9%), metal products (-1.7%) and chemical products (-1.4%) reported significant production losses. Increases in production were reported by the producers of electrical equipment (+3.0%) and glass, glassware, ceramics and stone processors (+2.2%), as well as in the area of metal production and processing (+0.5%).

In the less volatile three-month comparison, the decline in production in the manufacturing industry slowed to 0.4 % in October. Industry recorded a minus of 0.1 %, construction of 0.3 % and the energy sector of 3.7 %.

This means that industrial activity continues to decline. The recent decline in incoming orders and the latest deterioration in sentiment indicators from ifo, S&P Global and ZEW do not currently suggest a sustained economic turnaround in German industry.