The euro area (EA12) industrial new orders index increased by 1.4% in November 2006 compared to October 2006. The index fell by 0.5% in October and by 1.3% in September. EU25 new orders gained 1.1% in November 2006, after an increase of 0.3% in October and a fall of 1.0% in September. Excluding ships, railway and aerospace equipment4 industrial new orders rose by 0.8% in both zones in November 2006.

In November 2006 compared to November 2005, industrial new orders increased by 6.2% in the euro area and by 7.3% in the EU25. Total industry excluding ships, railway and aerospace equipment grew by 8.5% in the euro area and by 8.2% in the EU25.

Monthly changes

In November 2006 compared to October 2006, new orders for transport equipment increased by 3.9% in the euro area and by 1.3% in the EU25. Manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products grew by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. Basic metals and fabricated metal products decreased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU25. Textiles and textile products dropped by 1.0% in the euro area, but gained 1.2% in the EU25. Manufacturing of machinery and equipment fell by 1.0% and 0.2% respectively. Electrical and electronic equipment decreased by 2.5% in the euro area and by 2.2% in the EU25.

In November 2006, among the EU25 Member States for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders rose in ten Member States and fell in eight. The highest increases were recorded in Latvia (+41.4%), Poland (+9.3%) and France (+2.7%). The largest decreases were registered in Ireland (-11.6%), Denmark (-10.4%) and Greece (-5.3%).

Annual changes

In November 2006 compared to November 2005, new orders for basic metals and fabricated metal products grew by 18.8% in the euro area and by 18.1% in the EU25. Manufacturing of machinery and equipment increased by 12.9% and 14.0% respectively. Chemicals and chemical products gained 6.5% in the euro area and 5.8% in the EU25. Manufacturing of textiles and textile products rose by 3.8% and by 6.5% respectively. Electrical and electronic equipment grew by 2.6% in the euro area and by 3.1% in the EU25. Transport equipment fell by 2.0% in the euro area, but gained 2.6% in the EU25.

In November 2006, among the EU25 Member States for which data are available, total manufacturing working on orders rose in seventeen Member States, and fell only in Ireland (-16.3%). The highest increases were registered in Poland (+41.0%), Latvia (+31.5%) and Slovakia (+28.7%).

The euro area (EA12) consisted of 12 Member States up to 31 December 2006: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. From 1 January 2007 the euro area (EA13) also includes Slovenia.

Up to 31 December 2006 the European Union (EU25) included: Belgium (BE), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK). From 1 January 2007 the European Union (EU27) also includes Bulgaria (BG) and Romania (RO).