German engineering orders jump 65% in September – VDMA

BERLIN (Reuters) – A one-off boost from large-scale industrial facilities in September prompted German engineering companies’ order books, though supply bottlenecks are snagging how quickly orders can be filled, industry association VDMA said on Thursday.

Total orders increased by 65% year on year, helped by foreign orders that nearly doubled, reaching 98%.

The jump was partially attributed to the sharp fall last year due to coronavirus pandemic.

But even taking the special effect into consideration, the total number of incoming orders remains a fifth above last year’s level, VDMA economic expert Olaf Wortmann said.

VDMA said the increase shows demand remains intact despite supply bottlenecks slowing down processing.

“But it will take longer than usual until [the orders] can also become revenue,” Wortmann said.

September CHANGE

overall +65% y/y

of which German +3% y/y

foreign +98% y/y

July-September

overall +50% y/y

of which German +19% y/y

foreign +67% y/y

(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Riham Alkousaa)