German manufacturing orders experienced a slight contraction in July 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Statistical Federal Office (Destatis) on Wednesday. The volume of real orders decreased by 0.1 percent when compared to June 2025, after seasonal and calendar adjustments. However, year-on-year, orders rose by a more substantial 4.3 percent compared to July 2024.
The marginal decrease in orders compared to the previous month was largely attributable to a decline within the automotive sector, which saw a 1.9 percent drop after similar adjustments. This negative influence was partially offset by a positive contribution from the production of data processing equipment, electronic and optical products, which increased by 1.6 percent.
Outstanding orders from domestic sources fell by 0.7 percent in July 2025 compared to June 2025. Conversely, orders from abroad saw a slight increase of 0.2 percent.
The duration of the order backlog decreased to 7.8 months in July, down slightly from 7.9 months in June 2025. Producers of capital goods maintained a backlog duration of 10.7 months, while intermediate goods producers reported 4.3 months and consumer goods producers recorded 3.6 months.
The volume of orders remained unchanged for producers of intermediate goods when compared to June 2025. A decrease of 0.4 percent was observed among producers of capital goods, while consumer goods producers experienced a rise of 1.5 percent.
