In October 2008 compared with September 2008, the euro area (EA15) industrial new orders index fell by 4.7%. In September the index decreased by 5.4%. In the EU27 new orders declined by 6.3% in October 2008, after dropping by 5.2% in September. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders fell by 3.8% in the euro area and by 6.3% in the EU27.

In October 2008 compared with October 2007, industrial new orders decreased by 15.1% in the euro area and by 17.9% in the EU27. Total industry excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment dropped by 14.0% in the euro area and by 13.2% in the EU27.

Monthly changes

In October 2008 compared with September 2008, new orders for chemicals & chemical products fell by 0.7% in the euro area and by 2.8% in the EU27. Manufacturing of electrical & electronic equipment decreased by 3.2% and 1.9% respectively. Textiles & textile products fell by 3.2% in the euro area and by 2.4% in the EU27. Manufacturing of basic metals & fabricated metal products declined by 5.8% and 5.7% respectively. Machinery & equipment dropped by 6.5% in the euro area and by 12.6% in the EU27. Transport equipment decreased by 9.4% and 10.2% respectively.

In October 2008, among the Member States for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders fell in eighteen, and rose only in Ireland (+10.0%) and Denmark (+2.7%). The largest decreases were recorded in Latvia (-20.2%), France (-11.3%), the Czech Republic (-10.7%) and Bulgaria (-10.1%).

Annual changes

In October 2008 compared with October 2007, new orders for chemicals & chemical products grew by 0.6% in the euro area, but fell by 0.5% in the EU27. Manufacturing of electrical & electronic equipment declined by 9.8% and 7.0% respectively. Basic metals & fabricated metal products decreased by 11.7% in the euro area and by 12.3% in the EU27. Manufacturing of textiles & textile products fell by 14.9% and 14.0% respectively. Machinery & equipment declined by 16.6% in the euro area and by 16.5% in the EU27. Transport equipment dropped by 33.3% and 37.8% respectively.

In October 2008, among the Member States for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders fell in seventeen, and rose only in Romania (+18.4%), Latvia (+6.6%) and Ireland (+0.6%). The most significant falls were recorded in the Czech Republic (-24.2%), Spain (-20.1%), Germany (-17.7%), Sweden (-17.6%) and France (-17.4%).