In May there was a drop in incoming orders for industrial companies in the EU. In the Eurozone (EZ15) the index for incoming orders fell by 3.5% as compared to April. In the EU27 the number of incoming orders decreased by 4.7%. As compared to May 2007 the index fell by 4.4% in the Eurozone and by 2.8% in the EU27. This was announced on Wednesday by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office.

Monthly changes

As compared to April incoming orders to the chemical industry fell by 0.5% in both the Eurozone and the EU27 in May. For the metal processing industry the index decreased by 2.4% and 1.9% respectively. With regard to electrical and electronic products the order intake was down by 3.0% and 4.5% respectively. For plant and mechanical engineering the respective figures were -4.1% and -7.7%. In the textile and clothing industry incoming orders were down by 4.2% in the Eurozone and by 1.7% in the EU27 and in the car manufacturing industry by 7.0% and 8.5% respectively.

There was an increase in incoming orders to the processing industry in five EU member states in May and a decrease in thirteen member states. In Portugal the index remained unchanged. The number of incoming orders increased most in Denmark (+14.8%) and Ireland (+9.7%). Most significant decreases were registered in Latvia (-14.2%), Hungary (-7.5%), Slovakia (-6.6%) and Italy (-6.4%).

Yearly changes

As compared to May 2007 the index for incoming orders to the metal processing industry increased by 0.9% in the Eurozone and by 1.6% in the EU27 in May 2008. The order intake by the chemical industry in the Eurozone and the EU27 changed by -0.9% and +2.3% respectively. In the electrical and electronic industries incoming orders were down by 2.8% and 2.5% respectively. In mechanical and plant engineering the changes were -6.3% in the Eurozone and -3.9% in the EU27. The number of incoming orders to the textile and clothing industry decreased by -8.6% in the Eurozone and by -6.4% in the EU27. In the car manufacturing industry the changes were -10.1% (Eurozone) and -7.2% (EU27).

There was an increase in nine member states in May 2008 as compared to May last year and a decrease in ten. The biggest increases were registered in Denmark (+24.6%), Romania (+20.2%) and Lithuania (+17.8%) whereas in Hungary (-11.4%), France (-8.9%) and the Netherlands (-7.5%) the number of incoming orders fell most significantly.