In May this year, the seasonally and working-day adjusted turnover in the German manufacturing industry fell by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month, following a revised month-on-month increase of one percent in April, according to the preliminary data reported by Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The working day adjusted turnover in the German manufacturing sector in May this year was lower by 1.8 percent compared to May 2012.
In the first five months of the year, the working-day adjusted turnover in manufacturing was also 1.8 percent below the level of the same period of the previous year, with domestic sales decreasing by 3.2 percent and foreign sales falling by 0.4 percent.
In May, the greatest month-on-month turnover decrease in the German manufacturing sector was observed in the mechanical engineering industry with a fall of 4.4 percent, following the 6.4 percent month-on-month increase in April. In the motor vehicle segment, in the given month there was a 3.9 percent decrease, with a 4.1 percent decrease in domestic sales and a 3.7 percent decline in foreign sales, month on month.
In May, the turnover of German metal and metal product manufacturing remained almost stable with just a 0.1 percent decline as compared to April, with domestic sales decreasing by 1.6 percent, while foreign sales were up by 2.4 percent, month on month. In May, a slight month-on-month decrease of 0.2 percent was recorded in the turnover in manufacture of fabricated metal products, with domestic sales rising 2.3 percent and foreign sales decreasing by 4.9 percent, both compared to the previous month.