German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Jump

Germany’s factory orders surged 7.8% month-on-month in December 2025, defying market expectations for a 2.2% drop and accelerating from November’s marginally revised 5.7% gain. It marked the fourth straight monthly increase and the strongest since December 2023, boosted by large orders in metal products (30.2%) and mechanical engineering (11.5%). Notable growth was also recorded in electrical equipment orders (9.8%) and electronic products (5.7%). In contrast, demand fell for aircraft, ships, trains, and military vehicles (- 18.7%), and the automotive industry (-6.3%). By category, capital goods rose 10.5% and intermediate goods 5.7%, while consumer goods declined 5.3%. Domestic demand climbed 10.7%, and foreign orders advanced 5.6%, led by a 9.7% rise from non-euro area markets, offsetting a 0.6% euro area drop. Excluding large contracts, orders edged up 0.9%. On a quarterly basis, factory orders grew 9.5% in Q4, or 2.5% without large contracts.

Germany’s factory orders jumped 5.6% mom in November 2025, beating market estimates for a 1.0% fall and picking up from an upwardly revised 1.6% increase in the prior month. This marked the third straight monthly gain and the strongest pace since December 2024, boosted by large orders in the manufacture of metal products (25.3%) and aircraft, ships, trains, and military vehicles (12.3%). More moderate growth was also recorded in electrical equipment, mechanical engineering and data processing, electronic, and optical products. By category, orders rose across the board, including consumer goods (8.2%), capital goods (7.9%), and intermediate goods (1.0%). Domestic demand jumped 6.5%, while foreign demand increased 4.9%, supported by gains from both the euro area (8.2%) and non-euro area markets (2.9%). Excluding large-scale contracts, orders rose 0.7%. On a three-month basis from September to November, factory orders advanced 4.0%, and excluding large contracts, they increased 1.6%.

Germany’s factory orders rose 1.5% month-on-month in October 2025, exceeding market forecasts of 0.5% but slowing from an upwardly revised 2.0% gain in the previous month. The latest figure marked the second consecutive monthly rise, supported by a large 87.1% jump in aircraft, ships, trains, and military vehicle orders, alongside an 11.9% rise in metal production and processing. In contrast, demand for electrical equipment fell 16.2%. By category, orders rose for capital goods (4.9%) but declined for intermediate (-3.4%) and consumer goods (-2.2%). Domestic orders surged 9.9%, while foreign demand fell 4.0%, dragged by weakness from non-Euro area markets (-6.5%), with Euro area orders up slightly (0.1%). Excluding large-scale contracts, overall orders rose 0.5%. On a three-month average from August to October, factory orders fell 0.5%, but excluding large contracts, they grew 2.0%, reflecting steady underlying demand