German factory orders drop 10.6 per cent as a wave of ship, rail and aircraft orders unwinds

10 October 2026

New orders in German manufacturing fell 10.6% in August 2026 compared with July 2026, in real terms and seasonally and calendar adjusted, Destatis said on 6 October 2026. Excluding large-scale orders the fall was only 0.1%, and orders were still 2.7% above August 2025. Destatis said the decline was almost entirely attributable to the sharp decline in the manufacture of other transport equipment, which fell 61.5% after an unusually large volume of big orders for ships, rail rolling stock and aircraft had more than doubled that sector in July. Capital goods orders fell 15.3%, consumer goods 7.3% and intermediate goods 2.6%. Domestic orders were down 17.3% and foreign orders 5.4%.