Real (price-adjusted) new orders in German manufacturing were up 7.8% in December 2025, month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, according to provisional figures of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). When large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were 0.9% higher than in the previous month. The less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed that new orders were 9.5% higher in the 4th quarter of 2025 than in the 3rd quarter; when large-scale orders are excluded, new orders were up 2.5% over the same period. After revision of the provisional data, new orders in November 2025 increased by 5.7% on October 2025 (provisional figure +5.6%).
Substantial growth in some sectors
The positive development of new orders in manufacturing in December 2025 is mainly attributable to the substantial growth in the manufacture of fabricated metal products (+30.2% on the previous month after seasonal and calendar adjustment) and considerable increases in the manufacture of machinery and equipment (+11.5%), which plays an important role in the economy. Large-scale orders were reported by several establishments operating in different areas of these two economic branches. The growth observed in the manufacture of electrical equipment (+9.8%), and the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (+5.7%) also had a positive impact on the overall result. By contrast, new orders declined by 6.3% in the automotive industry. In the manufacture of other transport equipment (aircraft, ships, trains, military vehicles), new orders decreased by 18.7% compared with the high level of the preceding month. Nevertheless, sizeable large-scale orders were again recorded here.
New orders for capital goods were up 10.5% in December 2025 compared with the previous month. In the intermediate goods sector, new orders rose by 5.7% and dropped by 5.3% for producers of consumer goods.
Foreign orders were up 5.6% in December 2025, with orders from the euro area decreasing by 0.6% and orders from outside the euro area rising by 9.7%. Domestic orders were up 10.7%.
Turnover in December 2025 down 1.4% on the previous month
According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) in December 2025 was down 1.4% on the previous month. Compared with December 2024, the calendar-adjusted turnover was 1.9% lower. After revision of the provisional data, there was an increase of 2.9% in November 2025 from October 2025 (provisional figure: +2.7%).
In 2025 as a whole, real turnover in manufacturing was 1.3% lower than a year earlier, after adjustment for calendar effects.