German Industrial Orders Rebounded In May

By Carsten Brzeski of Think.ING

Chief Economist at ING Germany • Jul 6, 2026 at 8:20 AM EDT

Industrial orders increased in May, fuelling hopes of at least a gradual recovery in German industry.

depositphotos_844538066-stock-photo-warehouse-worker-focusing-supply-chain.jpg — Source: DepositPhotos

Industrial orders increased in May, fuelling hopes of at least a gradual recovery in German industry.

German industrial orders increased by 1.9% month-on-month in May, from a 3.8% mum decline in April, suggesting that parts of German industry are still benefiting from the rechannelling of international orders due to the war in the Middle East. On the year, orders were up by 6.2%.

It sounds counterintuitive, but the conflict has provided a boost to parts of German manufacturing. The initial support came from stockpiling and more recently, some companies have benefited from Asian competitors being more exposed to disruptions affecting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, despite today’s encouraging data, order books are recovering only gradually. After last year’s rebound, mainly driven by strong demand in the defence industry, order books have been struggling to really gain more momentum this year. While industrial orders increased by more than 4% MoM between September and December last year, they were up by some 1% every month this year; at least when taking out the devastating January number (-11.5% MoM).

All in all, despite initial fears that the conflict in the Middle East would trigger new supply chain disruptions, German industry appears to have escaped with little more than a black eye.

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