Development of output in the goods-producing sector in March 2024

According to the Federal Statistical Office¹, output in the goods-producing sector fell slightly by 0.4% in March compared to the previous month, adjusted for price, calendar and seasonal effects. This decline follows after increases of 1.3% and 1.7% in January and February respectively. Industrial output also decreased by 0.4% (January: +1.3%, February: +2.0%). By contrast, output in the construction industry increased again and was up by 1.0%, following significant increases of 2.9% and 4.2% in January and February respectively. Energy generation, however, fell noticeably by 4.2% (January: -2.7%, February: -6.9%).

The individual branches within the goods-producing sector saw differing developments in March: while production increased slightly in the motor vehicles/vehicle parts (+0.6%), electrical equipment (+0.6% ) and metal products (+0.3% ) sectors, it fell in mechanical engineering (-1.0% ) and pharmaceutical products (-0.3% ). Output in the particularly energy-intensive industrial sectors remained unchanged overall, following significant increases of 4.3% and 4.6% in January and February respectively.

In the more meaningful quarter-on-quarter comparison, industry and manufacturing as a whole recorded noticeable increases of 0.7% and 1.0% respectively, despite the recent setbacks. In the construction industry, there was even an increase of 3.9% in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, helped by the mild weather conditions. Despite the current order situation, which is still rather weak, the continued brightening of the ifo business climate and the purchasing managers index point to a further recovery in industrial production over the course of the year.

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^[1] Press release by the Federal Statistical Office of 8 May 2024 All figures are based on provisional data and have been adjusted for price, calendar day and seasonal factors (X13 JDemetra+ procedure).