Source:Eurostat

24 FEB. 2011

In the Euro area order books rose +2.1% in December month-on-month, the third consecutive increase since September's gap (-4.2%) as new orders of Intermediate Goods and Capital Goods grew respectively +2.4% and +3.7% pushed up by the automobile industry's renewed demand. By contrast, new orders of Durable Consumer Goods dipped -2.3% due to feeble demand for household equipment and appliances, while Non Durable Consumer Goods surged +1.9%.

Among the region's heavy economic weights, new order books performed best in Italy, +9.1% rebound as Spain and Italy entered into negative territories, respectively -0.1% and -2.9%. In the UK, a non-Euro area member state, new orders moved down to +2.8%.

Ireland's and Greece's new order books plunged, -12.4% and -4.4% as commercial partners stayed away from potential defaulting counterparties due to each country's recent financial woes. Among east European member states, new orders in Estonia jumped +26.4%, a direct result of the country's Euro area member state status from January 1st. In Slovakia, order books climbed +8.2%, in Romania +6.1% , and in Poland +4.4%.

Hungary and Bulgaria recorded major gaps, with new orders diving -18.5% and -6%.

Nordic states reflected their solid economic upturns: in Finland new orders rose +6.8%, in Sweden +3.1% and in Denmark +4%. As a result, new orders in the EU 27 outperformed the Euro area's and climbed +2.5%.

In one year, overall new orders in the Euro area slowed down mechanically to +18.5% (from +20%) and matched the EU 27. Per industrial sector, the Euro area's new orders of Intermediate Goods rose +26.5% (+24.8% in the EU 27) and Non Durable Consumer Goods +6.7% (+3.6%). Orders of Capital Goods moved down to +16.9% (+18.3% in the EU 27) and Durable Consumer Goods to +2.2% (+3.5%). Germany's new orders rose +26.8%, Spain's slowed down to +7.2%, but Italy's nearly doubled to +17.5%. New orders in the UK maintained momentum and rose +18.1%, ahead of the VAT hike. In Finland, new orders shot up +46.3%, in Sweden +18.8% but fell -0.9% in Denmark.

Eastern Europe recorded solid orders books with new orders soaring +50.1% in Lithuania, +42.3% in Romania,+33.2% in Slovakia, +23.4% in Poland while Latvia's slowed down to +39.6%, Bulgaria's a more substantial 10 percentage points to +17.5% and the Czech Republic to +11.5%. Estonia recorded a historical high +114.8% new orders intake.