The calendar-adjusted stock of orders was 5.2 per cent lower in January this year than in the same month last year.

Unfilled domestic orders in January were down by 1.5 per cent MoM and the stock of foreign orders was down by 0.4 per cent MoM.

Producers of capital goods saw the stock of orders decline by 1 per cent. The stock of orders increased by 0.1 per cent in the intermediate goods and consumer goods sectors, a Destatis release said.

Compared with the previous month, the range of the stock of orders fell to 6.9 months in January (December 2023: 7 months).

The range of the stock of orders dropped to 9.2 months for producers of capital goods (December 2023: 9.4 months). It rose to 4 months for intermediate goods producers (December 2023: 3.9 months) and increased to 3.5 months for consumer goods producers (December 2023: 3.4 months).

Assuming turnover remains constant and no new orders are received, the range indicates the number of months local units would, in theory, have to produce goods in order to fill all orders on hand, Destatis noted.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)