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The Federal Statistical Office reported that real, price-adjusted factory orders in manufacturing declined 10.6 percent in August from July on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis after an upwardly revised 3.2 percent gain the previous month. The drop far exceeded economists’ expectations for a fall of around 1 percent and marked the first monthly decline since April. On a calendar-adjusted basis orders were still 2.7 percent higher than in August 2025, down from 14 percent growth in July.
Orders for capital goods fell 15.3 percent while those for intermediate goods decreased 2.6 percent and consumer goods slipped 7.3 percent, according to the office’s breakdown. Foreign orders declined 5.4 percent with similar drops recorded from both the eurozone and non-eurozone countries. Domestic orders posted a sharper 17.3 percent fall, the data showed.
The headline decline was almost entirely due to a 61.5 percent plunge in orders for other vehicles covering aircraft, ships, trains and military equipment after that category more than doubled in July on large-scale contracts. Excluding such large orders the overall decrease was only 0.1 percent, Destatis figures indicate. The three-month comparison from June to August showed orders 1.3 percent higher than in the preceding period though they fell 2.6 percent without the large contracts.
Real turnover in manufacturing remained unchanged in August after a 1.4 percent decline in July, the Federal Statistical Office added in the same release. The office revised its July orders data upward from an initial reading. Such volatility has become more pronounced as public procurement plays a larger role in demand.
Germany’s economy ministry described the August data as a marked setback while noting that the picture was virtually unchanged without the big orders. The ministry highlighted that orders have become highly volatile because of the growing importance of public procurement for military and other equipment. It pointed to the data as underscoring the fragility of the recovery in Europe’s largest economy.
The figures arrive as the German manufacturing sector contends with multiple headwinds including past energy shocks and geopolitical tensions even as public spending supports a slow rebound. Factory orders have averaged modest growth over the long term but posted extreme swings during the pandemic and subsequent crises, according to historical data from the statistical office. Econometric models project a return to modest positive monthly changes in 2027 and 2028.
