December Manufacturing Orders Skyrocket
Provisional data for December 2025 shows a powerful, broad-based rebound in manufacturing demand, though a significant portion is concentrated in large-scale projects.
Headline Surge: New orders jumped +7.8% from November 2025 (seasonally adjusted).
Underlying Trend: Excluding volatile large-scale orders, growth was a more modest +0.9%, indicating the headline figure was boosted by major contracts.
Strong Quarterly Performance: Orders in Q4 2025 were 9.5% higher than in Q3 2025 (or +2.5% excluding large-scale orders).
Sector Highlights:
Major Gains: Fabricated metal products (+30.2%) and machinery & equipment (+11.5%) were the primary drivers, with large orders across these sectors.
Solid Growth: Electrical equipment (+9.8%) and computer/electronic products (+5.7%) also contributed positively.
Declines: Orders fell in the automotive industry (-6.3%) and other transport equipment (-18.7%), despite some large orders in the latter.
Geographic Split: Domestic orders soared +10.7%, while foreign orders grew +5.6% (driven by a +9.7% increase from non-euro area countries).
Contrast with Turnover: Despite the order boom, actual turnover (sales) in December fell 1.4% month-on-month, highlighting a potential divergence between future demand and current activity.
Previous Month Revised Upward: November 2025 growth was revised up to +5.7% (from +5.6%).
