Preliminary figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) indicate that real (price-adjusted) production in the manufacturing sector rose by 2.0% in August 2026 compared to July 2026, based on seasonally and calendar-adjusted data.
When looking at the three-month comparison (June to August 2026), production was 0.4% higher than in the preceding quarter. Compared to August 2025, the overall manufacturing output increased by 2.3% when adjusted for calendar effects. However, production in July 2026 saw a revised decline of 1.2% compared to June 2026 (the preliminary value was -1.1%).
The notable increase in August 2026 was primarily driven by the construction industry, which reported a 9.3% rise over the previous month (seasonally and calendar-adjusted). Within construction, specialized building activities and fitting out saw an even sharper increase of 13.1%. The manufacturing sector also benefited positively from a 5.3% surge in machinery production. Conversely, the overall growth was tempered by a renewed decline of 5.4% in the automotive industry. According to the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), this drop is partly attributed to industry-standard factory holidays occurring in August 2026, a trend that was more intense than in the previous year.
Focusing on the core industry (manufacturing excluding energy and construction), production increased by 0.6% in August 2026 relative to July 2026 (seasonally and calendar-adjusted). Specifically, the production of investment goods grew by 1.2%, while consumer goods production rose by 0.6%. Production of intermediate goods, however, fell by 0.2%. Separately, energy generation declined by 0.4% outside the industry. On an annual basis, the core industry production fell by 0.4% when adjusted for calendar effects compared to August 2025.
In the more specific sectors, energy-intensive industries experienced a downturn in August 2026, with production dropping by 0.5% compared to July 2026 (seasonally and calendar-adjusted). In the three-month comparison (June to August 2026), performance in energy-intensive industries was 2.9% lower than in the previous quarter. Furthermore, compared to August 2025, energy-intensive production decreased by 2.1% when calendar effects were accounted for, according to statisticians.
