According to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), the number of orders received by industry in the Eurozone (EZ15) increased by 2.0% in January 2008 as compared to December last year. With regard to the EU27, here the order volume decreased by 1.0% on the previous month in January 2008.
Not taking into account ship building, rail vehicle construction as well as the aircraft and astronautics industry, the order volume increased by 1.3% in the Eurozone in January 2008 and fell by 0.8% in the EU27.
In comparison with January 2007 the index of orders received by industry increased by 7.3% in the Eurozone in January this year and by 6.7% in the EU27. Without taking into account shipbuilding, rail vehicle construction as well as the aircraft and astronautics industry the increase in the order intake was 5.8% and 5.6% respectively.
Monthly changes
In comparison to the previous month the number of incoming orders in car manufacturing increased by 6.2% in the Eurozone in January this year while it fell by 4.0% in the EU27. Orders to mechanical engineering and plant construction increased by 2.4% and 4.6% respectively. The respective figures for the chemical industry were +1.0% and +1.9%. In the metal producing industry, the order volume increased by 0.9% and 2.8% respectively. In the textile and clothing industry the order volume remained unchanged in the Eurozone and increased by 0.7% in the EU27. With regard to electrical and electronic devices the index fell by 0.6% in the Eurozone and by 1.8% in the EU27.
Among those countries which made data available there were nine countries in which order intake increased and eight in which it fell. The index stayed unchanged in Hungary. The biggest increases were registered in Bulgaria (+8.8%), Ireland (+8.0%) and Sweden (+4.6%). The sharpest declines were observed in Poland (-23.2%), Latvia (-15.1%) and Romania (-11.2%).
Yearly changes
The order intake by the car manufacturing industry increased by 14.7% in the Eurozone and by 13.4% in the EU27 in January this year as compared to January last year. There were 8.3% and 9.3% more orders received by mechanical engineering and plant construction. With regard to electric and electronic devices the volume of incoming orders grew by 5.6% in the Eurozone and by 1.6% in the EU27. In the chemical industry there were 5.2% and 5.5% more orders. The respective figures for the metal producing industry were +4.9% and +5.5%. With regard to the textile and clothing industry the index fell by 0.3% in the Eurozone and stayed unchanged in the EU27.
In fifteen European countries the volume of incoming orders increased and in three countries it fell. The biggest increase in incoming orders was registered in Lithuania (+19.2%), Estonia (+17.6%), Latvia (+13.2%) and Slovakia (+13.1%). The order volume decreased in Ireland (-8.1%), Greece (-4.3%) and Hungary (-2.5%).
Explanations:
- EZ15: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Cyprus and Malta.
- EU27: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Great Britain.
