A jump in transport equipment orders boosted overall German monthly factory orders in July, according to preliminary data from the country's Federal Statistical Office published Friday.
Seasonally and calendar-adjusted manufacturing orders for July climbed 2.5% month on month, beating market expectations of a 0.3% gain and following the revised 3.7% growth in June.
The positive headline figure was attributed almost entirely to large-scale contracts in transport equipment, including ships, trains and aircraft. The 126.4% surge in heavy transport orders helped offset a 12.5% decline in the automotive segment.
According to Destatis, excluding these mega orders, factory demand slipped by 1.4% month over month.
Meanwhile, capital and intermediate goods orders grew by 2.4% and 4.3%, respectively. In contrast, consumer goods recorded a 4.8% drop.
July orders were also supported by a 9.1% rise in domestic sales and a 12.1% gain in orders from the eurozone. However, total foreign demand declined by 2.1% as orders outside the euro area slumped 10.1%.
On a yearly basis, calendar-adjusted order growth accelerated to 13.1%, after June's revised 7.2% increase. While the three-month average rose 2.9%, excluding the large-scale deals showed a 2.2% contraction for May to July.
