MONTHLY DATAMonthly Data Watch (Germany)
In Germany, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) publishes monthly order and production indices narrowed down to machine tools alone (WZ 28.41 = metalworking). Unlike JMTBA's order values in Japan, these are indices with 2021 = 100, so read them by their month-on-month and year-on-year changes. Export and import values come from Eurostat's trade statistics (Comext), and prices of cutting tools and machine tools from Destatis's producer price index. Orders and production from the industry association VDW are released quarterly.
Figures through September 2026 (as published on October 23, 2026). We show only the values for the last 24 months and the month-on-month and year-on-year changes for the latest month. The order and production indices are complete early in the second month after, the producer price index around the 20th of the following month, and export and import values in the middle of the month 2–3 months later.
Each month the figures are updated, we keep a snapshot of them as an issue (latest issue: October 2026 / All issues).
| Series | Latest month | Value | Month on month | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine tool orders (Destatis order index) Order index (total) | August 2026 Preliminary | 104.2 index (2021=100) | +6.2% | +23.0% |
| Machine tool production (Destatis production index) Production index | August 2026 Preliminary | 78.3 index (2021=100) | −0.1% | +2.5% |
| Machine tool exports (Eurostat) Total exports | July 2026 Published | 595 € million/month | +2.1% | +5.0% |
| Machine tool imports (Eurostat) Total imports | July 2026 Published | 159 € million/month | −12.5% | −21.3% |
| Producer prices of cutting tools and machine tools (Destatis) Cutting tools | September 2026 Final | 132.8 index (2021=100) | +1.0% | +13.0% |
1. Machine tool orders (Destatis order index)August 2026 (preliminary)
An index of the value of orders received by Germany's manufacturers of metalworking machine tools (WZ 2008 28.41 = NACE C28.41, covering both metal-cutting and metal-forming) (nominal value index, 2021 = 100, original series without seasonal adjustment). Total, with a breakdown into domestic and foreign orders. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis)
Order index (total)
104.2index (2021=100)
Month on month +6.2%Year on year +23.0%
Domestic
81.2index (2021=100)
Month on month −17.1%Year on year +19.1%
Foreign
117.6index (2021=100)
Month on month +19.8%Year on year +24.8%
As of this issue, figures have been published only through August 2026 (released early in the second month after, e.g. August figures in early October; the latest month is provisional and may be revised until the year is finalized).
Sources by month (1)
- September 2024 – August 2026 (final, preliminary): Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), “Auftragseingang im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe (Wertindex)”, GENESIS-Online table 42151-0002 (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – 2.0)
For details, see History of German machine tools (NC, mechatronics and Industry 4.0).
2. Machine tool production (Destatis production index)August 2026 (preliminary)
Production index for Germany's manufacturers of metalworking machine tools (WZ 2008 28.41 = NACE C28.41) (a volume index, not a value; 2021 = 100; original series without seasonal adjustment). Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis)
Production index
78.3index (2021=100)
Month on month −0.1%Year on year +2.5%
As of this issue, figures have been published only through August 2026 (released early in the second month after, in the same week as orders; the latest month is provisional and may be revised until the year is finalized).
Sources by month (1)
- September 2024 – August 2026 (final, preliminary): Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), “Produktionsindex für das Verarbeitende Gewerbe”, GENESIS-Online table 42153-0002 (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – 2.0)
For details, see History of German machine tools (NC, mechatronics and Industry 4.0).
3. Machine tool exports (Eurostat)July 2026 (published)
Value of machine tool exports from Germany to the world: machine tools that remove metal and other materials (HS 8456–8461) and forming machines (HS 8462–8463). Includes exports to other EU countries. Not seasonally adjusted. These are EU-basis trade statistics (Comext) and differ slightly from Destatis's national-basis figures. Source: Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, Comext)
Total exports
595€ million/month
Month on month +2.1%Year on year +5.0%
Metal-removal machine tools (HS 8456–8461)
442€ million/month
Month on month −6.1%Year on year +1.6%
Forming machines (HS 8462–8463)
153€ million/month
Month on month +36.3%Year on year +16.4%
As of this issue, figures have been published only through July 2026 (they appear in Eurostat Comext in the middle of the month 2–3 months later; the current year's figures are provisional and may be revised into the following year, with no distinction between preliminary and final figures).
Sources by month (1)
- August 2024 – July 2026 (published): Eurostat, “EU trade since 1988 by HS2-4-6 and CN8” (Comext DS-045409, CC BY 4.0)
For details, see History of German machine tools (NC, mechatronics and Industry 4.0).
4. Machine tool imports (Eurostat)July 2026 (published)
Value of machine tool imports into Germany from the world: machine tools that remove metal and other materials (HS 8456–8461) and forming machines (HS 8462–8463). Includes imports from other EU countries. Not seasonally adjusted. EU-basis trade statistics (Comext). Source: Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, Comext)
Total imports
159€ million/month
Month on month −12.5%Year on year −21.3%
Metal-removal machine tools (HS 8456–8461)
132€ million/month
Month on month −9.7%Year on year −23.9%
Forming machines (HS 8462–8463)
27€ million/month
Month on month −24.3%Year on year −5.1%
As of this issue, figures have been published only through July 2026 (they appear in Eurostat Comext in the middle of the month 2–3 months later; the current year's figures are provisional and may be revised into the following year, with no distinction between preliminary and final figures).
Sources by month (1)
- August 2024 – July 2026 (published): Eurostat, “EU trade since 1988 by HS2-4-6 and CN8” (Comext DS-045409, CC BY 4.0)
5. Producer prices of cutting tools and machine tools (Destatis)September 2026 (final)
From Germany's producer price index (domestic sales, GP 2019 product classification): cutting tools (the special item Zerspanwerkzeuge under GP 25.73.4) and metalworking machine tools and their parts (GP 28.41). 2021 = 100, not seasonally adjusted. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis)
Cutting tools
132.8index (2021=100)
Month on month +1.0%Year on year +13.0%
Metalworking machine tools (incl. parts)
121.7index (2021=100)
Month on month +0.1%Year on year +2.2%
Cutting tools in September 2026 were at their highest value in the last 24 months.
Sources by month (1)
For details, see Tungsten price surge and carbide tools (market prices, export controls, China's share).
Quarterly figures
These are quarterly figures from industry associations, which are not published monthly. We show only the latest quarter, taken from the publisher's own documents.
All issues
Figures not included and why (6)
- Machine tool order values (amounts): no statistics give monthly order values. Destatis publishes orders only as an index, and the industry association VDW gives only quarterly year-on-year changes (listed under quarterly figures)
- Destatis's official web service (the GENESIS API): retrieving data requires registering an email address, so we did not use it and instead read the same tables from the public JSON used by the GENESIS-Online interface (no registration needed)
- Eurostat production index (sts_inpr_m, NACE C28.4): as a 3-digit class it includes other machine tools (28.49), and its values differ from Destatis's 28.41, so we kept it only as a backup
- Eurostat order index: order indices have been discontinued in the EU's short-term statistics and are not available
- Deutsche Bundesbank time series: orders and production go down only to WZ 28 (machinery as a whole), with no series for machine tools alone
- Destatis trade statistics (GENESIS 51000): the product tables are large and hard to extract, so we used Eurostat Comext, which compiles the same customs data on an EU basis
FAQ
- When are the German figures updated?
- The order and production indices are complete early in the second month after, the producer price index around the 20th of the following month, and export and import values in the middle of the month 2–3 months later. This page is updated every month between mid-month and late in the month by re-fetching the data from the publishers' databases. In each month the figures move forward, we add one issue, and earlier issues remain available from the issue list. When later releases revise past months, we replace them with the latest values.
- Can these be compared directly with Japan's figures?
- Values are shown in each country's own currency and are not converted to yen. The production index is a volume index, in different units from Japan's Current Production Statistics (values). When comparing, look at the direction and size of year-on-year changes rather than the values themselves. For Japan's figures, see Monthly Data Watch (Japan).
- Should I look at month-on-month or year-on-year changes?
- Many of the figures are not seasonally adjusted, so month-on-month changes swing widely in months with summer holidays or the year-end break. Year-on-year changes are better for seeing which way the economy is heading. The description of each series states whether it is seasonally adjusted.