Germany is in the early stages of an unprecedented investment drive
New industrial orders continued to rebound in December 2025 following the sharp rise that began in November (left-hand chart). They rose by +14% over the two months, after having stabilized at a low level since the beginning of the year. The increase is mainly due to capital goods for the domestic market (+31.7%), whose level reached an all-time high in December (the series includes the post-reunification period). Over the last two months, metal products, electrical and electronic equipment, and machinery and equipment have been the fastest-growing sectors, while consumer goods, particularly automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and textiles, have remained weak (right-hand chart).
A noticeable but more mixed improvement in exports
The rebound in exports in December (+4% m/m) was primarily driven by an increase in exports to China (+10.7% m/m) and the United States (+8.9% m/m). This snapshot, however, does not reflect the full-year evolution: indeed overall export growth for the year was modest, at about +1.1%, with declines of -9.3% of exports to the United States and China, while those to the European Union showed a near +4% rebound (after two years of decline). Given the figures for new industrial orders, the noticeable improvement in December could continue into 2026, albeit less strongly than the domestic component. The composition exports also differs between those to the Eurozone (+6.3% over two months, dominated by capital goods) and those to the rest of the world (+14.7% over two months, starting from a very low level, with a more even split between capital and consumer goods).
