German Industrial Output Falls Most In 5 Months

(RTTNews) - Germany's industrial output declined the most in five months in December, reflecting a sharp reduction in auto production, Destatis reported Friday.

Industrial output fell 2.4 percent month-on-month in December, offsetting November's 1.3 percent gain.

Production marked the biggest fall since July. Moreover, the decline exceeded the expected drop of 0.7 percent.

Automotive production declined 10.0 percent and output in machine maintenance and assembly fell 10.5 percent. By contrast, the pharmaceutical industry posted the sharp growth of 11.6 percent.

Excluding energy and construction, industrial production was down 3.3 percent from November.

Production of capital goods fell 4.7 percent and the intermediate goods output dropped 3.3 percent. However, consumer goods production rose 0.9 percent.

Energy production was up 1.1 percent and construction output remained on the level of the previous month.

In 2024, industrial production was 4.5 percent lower than in 2023.

The decline in industrial output in December means production decreased for a third successive quarter in the fourth quarter and structural headwinds affecting the sector leave little hope for a sustained recovery this year, Capital Economics' economist Andrew Kenningham said.

Today's industrial data once again underlines that industry has been and will remain a drag on German growth, ING economist Carsten Brzeski said.

Official data released on Thursday showed that factory orders rebounded in December on strong demand for transport equipment. New orders increased 6.9 percent in December, reversing a 5.2 percent fall in November.