German Production Rises 0.7% in September as Car Output Jumps 17.1%
German production in industry rose 0.7% in September, Destatis said, led by a rebound in car plants after a weak summer, while August’s gain was revised down to 1.0%.
For German industry, September looks better than the quarter does. In The Edge’s reading, the month repaired a weak summer in car plants rather than turning the trend: output in the third quarter was still 0.4% lower than in the second, and energy-intensive branches fell 3.5%.
Car plants and pharmaceuticals lift the September figure
The statistics office put the rise primarily down to the automotive industry, where output climbed 17.1% on the month. Production there had been at a low level in July and August, partly because of production changeovers and factory holidays.
Pharmaceuticals added to the gain. Output in the branch grew 8.0% after two weaker months.
Two branches went the other way. Construction output fell 2.6%, and production of machinery and equipment dropped 6.5% after a 5.8% rise in August.
Industry excluding energy and construction rose 1.7%, more than twice the headline rate. Capital goods led with a 3.0% increase. Consumer goods added 0.8% and intermediate goods 0.1%, while energy production, outside industry, fell 1.2%.
September production by area (change on August, in %)
| Area | Change |
|---|---|
| Industry, total | 0.7 |
| Excl. energy and construction | 1.7 |
| Capital goods | 3.0 |
| Consumer goods | 0.8 |
| Intermediate goods | 0.1 |
| Energy production | -1.2 |
| Construction | -2.6 |
| Energy-intensive branches | 0.8 |
| Automotive industry | 17.1 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 8.0 |
| Machinery and equipment | -6.5 |
Real (price adjusted), provisional, seasonally and calendar adjusted; change on August 2026 as revised.
Additional construction data halve the August gain
August was weaker than first reported. The monthly rise was revised to 1.0% from 2.0%. The annual rise now stands at 0.7%, against 2.3% first published.
The statistics office tied the relatively large revision to additional data from construction businesses, supplied with their advance turnover tax returns. Construction had carried the first August estimate, with a 9.3% jump that the October release named as the main driver.
On the revised index, construction output rose 0.9% in August, The Edge calculates. On the same calculation, industry excluding energy and construction rose 0.9% in August, against 0.6% first published.
The September release also corrects a technical error in the index for construction and other transport equipment, back to January 2021. The office says the effect on the headline monthly rates lies between plus and minus 0.1 percentage points.
Production index, 2026 (2021 = 100)
| Month | Total | Constr. | Ex E&C |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 91.3 | 90.9 | 91.8 |
| February | 91.2 | 89.6 | 91.7 |
| March | 91.1 | 93.0 | 91.2 |
| April | 91.2 | 93.5 | 91.3 |
| May | 91.7 | 92.6 | 92.0 |
| June | 91.5 | 90.8 | 92.0 |
| July | 90.3 | 91.5 | 90.1 |
| August | 91.2 | 92.3 | 90.9 |
| September | 91.8 | 89.9 | 92.4 |
Seasonally and calendar adjusted (X13 JDemetra+), as published with the 6 November release. Total covers industry including energy and construction; Constr. is construction; Ex E&C is industry excluding energy and construction. September is provisional; earlier months reflect the revisions in the same release.
The quarter still ends lower
The less volatile three-month comparison points down. Production from July to September was 0.4% below the second quarter, a turn from the 0.4% three-month gain the office reported for June to August in October.
The quarterly averages show the fall in both main parts of the index. Construction averaged 1.2% less than in the second quarter, and industry excluding energy and construction 0.7% less.
Against a year earlier, the picture is broadly flat. Calendar adjusted production was 0.4% higher than in September 2025, and industry excluding energy and construction 0.3% higher.
Over the first nine months, the headline index averaged 1.2% below the same period of 2025, on The Edge’s calculation from the seasonally adjusted index. Industry excluding energy and construction was 2.0% lower on the same basis. The calendar adjusted index in the office’s database gives the same two rates.
Levels remain well under 2021. The September total is 8.2% below the 2021 average.
Quarterly averages of the adjusted index (2021 = 100; change in %)
| Measure | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry, total | 91.47 | 91.10 | -0.4 |
| Construction | 92.30 | 91.23 | -1.2 |
| Excl. energy and construction | 91.77 | 91.13 | -0.7 |
Averages of the three monthly seasonally and calendar adjusted index values in each quarter.
Energy-intensive branches fall further over the quarter
Output in the five energy-intensive branches rose 0.8% in September. Over the quarter it was 3.5% lower than in the second, a steeper fall than the 2.9% three-month decline reported for June to August.
On the year, energy-intensive production was 1.9% lower on a calendar adjusted basis. That compares with a 2.1% annual fall in August as first published.
The weight of these branches goes beyond their output. In 2021 they used 77% of all industrial energy while producing 17% of industrial gross value added. They employed about 930,000 people that year, according to Destatis.
Orders and output did not always move together. September orders rose 4.4% and car industry bookings 10.5%, as set out in our report of 5 November. Car output grew faster still.
In machinery the two split. Orders for machinery and equipment rose 8.3% in September, helped by a large-scale order for engines and turbines, while output in the branch fell 6.5%. Across the quarter, total orders were 0.2% higher, while production in industry excluding energy and construction slipped 0.7%.
Real turnover in manufacturing rose 0.2% in September, as set out in the same report. Germany’s economy grew 0.2% in the third quarter, as set out on 30 October.
What to watch:
25 November 2026: detailed results for German GDP in the third quarter.
Method: figures are from Destatis press release No. 389 of 6 November 2026 (production in industry, September 2026, provisional) and the index data published with it and in Destatis’s GENESIS database (table 42153), with context from its releases No. 355 of 7 October 2026 (August production), No. 385 of 5 November 2026 (September orders and turnover) and No. 381 of 30 October 2026 (GDP, third quarter); quarterly and nine-month averages, the revised August rates for construction and for industry excluding energy and construction, and distances between index values are The Edge’s calculations from the published seasonally and calendar adjusted index; the nine-month rates were also checked on the calendar adjusted index.
Sources: Destatis, The Edge.
