German manufacturing orders fell by 10.6% in real terms in August from the previous month after seasonal and calendar adjustment, preliminary figures showed. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported the data on Tuesday, October 6.

The headline drop largely reflected a 61.5% slump in orders for other transport equipment, including aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles. That sector had surged by a revised 129.4% in July amid an exceptional concentration of large contracts. Stripping out major orders, total factory demand edged down just 0.1% in August.

Domestic orders contracted 17.3%, while foreign demand declined 5.4%, with similar decreases inside and outside the euro area. Orders for capital goods dropped 15.3%, intermediate goods 2.6% and consumer goods 7.3%. Despite the monthly setback, overall orders were 2.7% above their year-earlier level, while real manufacturing turnover was unchanged from July.