2023.06.0606:27:00UTC+00German Factory Orders Fall Less Than Expected In April

Germany's manufacturing orders decreased further in April, but the fall was less severe than expected, led by decline in the manufacture for machinery and equipment and a massive slump in demand for vehicles such as ships and aircraft, preliminary data from the statistical office Destatis showed Tuesday.

Factory orders fell a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.4 percent month-on-month, which was much less severe than the 2.2 percent slump economists had forecast. The decline for March was revised to 10.9 percent from 10.7 percent. Excluding large-scale orders, factory orders grew 1.4 percent from the previous month.

Compared to the same month last year, factory orders shrunk 9.9 percent in April following an 11.2 percent decline in March. In the three months to April, new orders fell 2.3 percent from the previous three months. Manufacture of machinery and equipment shrunk 6.2 percent on a monthly basis in April. Orders in the miscellaneous vehicle construction sector, which includes the construction of ships, railed vehicles, aircraft, spacecrafts and army vehicles, crashed 34.0 percent.