German Industrial Orders Plunge 10.6% in August on Collapse in Large-Scale Contracts

German industrial orders fell 10.6% in August from July on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, far exceeding analyst expectations of a 1.0% decline, after large-scale orders for aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles dried up. The drop is entirely attributable to a 61.5% decline in "other transport equipment," which had more than doubled in July on an exceptionally high volume of large-scale orders, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday. Excluding large-scale orders, new orders were just 0.1% lower month-on-month. Domestic orders fell 17.3%, while foreign orders declined 5.4%, with euro zone and non-euro zone orders each down 5.4% and 5.5%, respectively. The less volatile three-month comparison showed new orders from June to August rose 1.3% over the prior period. July's provisional reading was revised up to 3.2% growth from 2.5%.