Data published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that industrial production increased by 3.0% in March, offsetting the February decline (-1.3%), and recording the sharpest increase since October 2021. Economists had expected growth of 0.8%. In annual terms, industrial production fell by 0.2% after a 4.1% decline in February. Meanwhile, over the last three months (through March), industrial production grew by 1.4% compared to the previous three-month period.
Destatis said that the numerous economic branches contributed to the positive development in industry in March. In particular, the production increases in the automotive industry (+8.1%), the pharmaceutical industry (+19.6%) and the manufacture of machinery and equipment (+4.4%) had an impact on overall performance. Production in industry including energy and construction increased by 3.6% m/m and by 0.3% compared with March 2024.
Intermediate goods production increased by 1.1% m/m. The production of capital goods increased by 4.9%, while the production of consumer goods also increased by 4.9%. Energy production dropped by 1.8% mom in March 2025, and production in construction rose by 2.1% mom.
Production in energy-intensive industrial branches increased by 1.5% m/m and fell by 2.3% per annum. A three-month on three-month comparison showed that production in the energy-intensive industrial branches was 1.2% higher in the period from January to March 2025 than in the previous three months.
Separate data from Destatis showed that in March, German exports were up 1.1% while imports were down 1.4% compared with February. The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 21.1 billion euros in March, compared with 18.0 billion euros in February (revised from 17.7 billion euros). Economists had expected an increase to 19.0 billion euros.