Industry: German production rose surprisingly in September

Berlin. German companies surprisingly increased their production in September, sending a further signal of upswing. Industry, construction and energy suppliers together produced 0.7 percent more than in the previous month, as the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Friday.

Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had expected stagnation, after a revised increase of 1.0 (preliminary value: 2.0) percent in August. Industrial output increased by 1.7 percent in September and was able to make up for the significant loss in the middle of the year, as the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced.

“The recent clear improvement in sentiment in industry, the high order backlog and the expiration of special effects that dampen production indicate that the industrial economy will pick up at the end of the year,” it continued.

Overall, however, production volume in the summer quarter was 0.4 percent lower than in the second quarter. The positive development in the last month of the summer quarter is largely due to the growth in the automotive industry: production here increased by 17.1 percent compared to the previous month. In this area, production had been at a low level in the previous two months due, among other things, to production changes and factory holidays, as Destatis explained.