Thanks to large orders from abroad, German industry received new orders at a record level in July.
Compared to June, the orders increased by 3.4 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Monday in Wiesbaden.
Analysts, on the other hand, had expected a decline of 0.7 percent on average.
According to the statisticians, incoming orders have thus risen to the highest level since the beginning of the time series in 1991.
Economists point out, however, that in view of the delivery bottlenecks it could be difficult to process the burst of orders on time and ultimately translate them into higher production figures.
“You could say: the whole world needs German goods, but Germany cannot deliver,” explained Jens-Oliver Niklasch, economist from the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.
The background to this is the combination of strong demand due to the economic recovery from the Corona slump and ongoing delivery difficulties in world trade, which are leading to a considerable shortage of materials.
Large orders outside the euro zone
The significant increase in orders in July was mainly due to large orders. Without this component, orders were down 0.2 percent month-on-month. Orders from outside the eurozone and there in the shipbuilding sector rose particularly sharply by 15.7 percent. In contrast, fewer orders came from Germany and the Eurozone than a month earlier. Orders for capital and consumer goods increased significantly overall, intermediate goods were ordered somewhat less.
Despite the robust figures at first glance, economists commented on the development rather cautiously. Commerzbank expert Ralph Solveen even spoke of a "waning order boom". His argument: Without orders for other vehicles such as airplanes or ships, orders would have clearly declined in July. Even from outside the euro zone, the movement is stalling, which is likely to be due in large part to the less dynamic demand from China.
In the opinion of Solveen, incoming orders are likely to be of secondary importance for the further development of industrial production and economic growth. “It will be more important whether the supply bottlenecks for preliminary products are overcome or whether they will get worse.” There are currently many reasons for these bottlenecks, but the effects of the corona pandemic are an important brake.