New industrial orders in the European Union in September 2008 were 4.6 per cent lower than the previous month, and dropped by 4.6 per cent from August to September 2008 in the eurozone, according to figures released on November 24 2008 by Eurostat.

The drop followed on decrease in the previous month, when the industrial new order index fell by 1.7 per cent in August in the EU and 1.5 per cent in the eurozone.

Overall, there were decreases over the year ending September 2008, by 0.9 per cent in the EU and 1.1 per cent in the eurozone, Eurostat said. The index does not include new orders for ships, railway and aerospace equipment, where according to Eurostate figures tended to fluctuate.

The new orders index measures the value of future deliveries of products and services (which are directly linked to these products) to be provided by a producer to a third party on the domestic and non-domestic market.

In September 2008 compared with August 2008, new orders for textiles & textile products rose by 0.4 per cent in the euro area and by 0.5 per cent in the EU27.

Chemicals & chemical products grew by 0.1 per cent in both zones. Electrical & electronic equipment decreased by 1.1 per cent in the euro area, but gained 0.2 per cent in the EU27.

Manufacturing of machinery & equipment dropped by 1.9 per cent and one per cent, respectively. Transport equipment fell by 3.8 per cent in the euro area and by 8.9 per cent in the EU27. Manufacturing of basic metals & fabricated metal products declined by 5.1 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively.

Eurostat said that in September 2008, among EU member states for which data was available, total manufacturing working on orders rose in eight, fell in 10 and remained stable in the Czech Republic. The highest increases were recorded in Latvia (+13.9 per cent), Bulgaria (+12.5 per cent) and Romania (+8.2 per cent), and the largest decreases were in Germany (-9.4 per cent), Portugal (-4.9 per cent) and Lithuania (-4.2 per cent).

Measuring annual changes, Eurostat said that in September 2008 compared with September 2007, new orders for chemicals & chemical products grew by 9.2 per cent in the euro area and by nine per cent in the EU27.

Manufacturing of basic metals and fabricated metal products increased by 4.4 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. Electrical & electronic equipment gained 1.2 per cent in the euro area and 0.9 per cent in the EU27. Manufacturing of textiles and textile products fell by 3.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.

Machinery and equipment declined by 3.9 per cent in the euro area, but increased by 1.7 per cent in the EU27. Transport equipment dropped by 14.8 per cent and 13.9 per cent, respectively.

In September 2008, among the member states for which data was available, total manufacturing working on orders rose in nine and fell in 10. The highest increases were registered in Latvia (+48.1 per cent), Romania (+43.1 per cent) and Lithuania (+18.3 per cent), and the most significant falls in Spain (-9.1 per cent), Sweden (-9 per cent) and France (-4.9 per cent).