21 OCTOBER 2011

Order books (excluding transport equipment) moved down by half to +0.6% in August month-on-month while total new orders rose +2.8% pushed up by transport equipment +10.8% allowing for new orders of Capital Goods to rise +2.7%  and Durable Consumer Goods +4%. Intermediate Goods stayed unchanged or +0.1% while new orders of Non Durable Consumer Goods stayed sustained and grew +2.6%

Export order books on the same period however melted to +0.6% (+2.8% in July) as the Euro area's lagging concerns over sovereign debt exposures hammered world trading markets. New orders from the single currency region shed over four percentage points but landed in positive territory to +0.5% in response to austerity measures in Italy and Spain, France's major trade partners.

The Automobile Industry's new orders index moved up to +1.8% and machinery and equipment +6.6%. New orders of electric electronic equipment IT and machinery fell -0.6% as feeble consumer demand pushed down new orders of IT products-electronic and optical equipment -6.2%, the second consecutive drop. Electric equipment consequently decreased by 4.6% as the previous month leap (+10.1%) allowed for sufficient stock.

Other industrial new orders, mostly Intermediate goods group, performed well except for clothing -4.8% dip as summer sales had failed to catch bargain hunters interest. Metal and metal products -6.4% new order drop translated prudent stock replenishing due to the feeble economic context.  By contrast, new orders of textile climbed +4.2%, paper and cardboard products +2.3%, chemical products +1% and pharmaceutical products +6.2% all ahead of the end of the summer vacations and in time for September school recess.

In one year, total new orders grew +11.2%, and excluding transport equipment +9%. Export orders books climbed +7% and from the Euro area +8.4%. New orders of Capital Goods jumped +15% fuelled  by transport equipment's equal performance. Intermediate Goods  increased +9.5%, Durable Consumer Goods +10.7% and Non Durable Consumer Goods +10.6%

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