Brussels, 23/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - In October 2008, the index of industrial orders fall by 4.7% in the eurozone on the previous month, when it fell by 5.4%, according to figures published by Eurostat on 22 December 2008. In the EU27, orders fell by 6.3% in October 2008, after a 5.2% fall in September. Compared with October 2007, industrial orders have fallen by 15.1% in the eurozone and 17.9% in the EU27.
In monthly terms, orders in the chemical industry fell by 0.7% in the eurozone and 2.8% in the EU27. Orders for electrical and electronic equipment fell by 3.2% and 1.9% respectively. Orders for the textile and clothing industry fell by 3.2% in the eurozone and 2.4% in the EU27. The metals and metal-working industry orders fell by 5.8% and 5.7% respectively. Machinery and equipment orders fell by 6.5% in the eurozone and 12.6% in the EU27. Transport equipment orders fell by 9.4% and 10.2% respectively. As a whole, order-based manufacturing industry shrank in eighteen Member States and increased in only Ireland (+10.0%) and Denmark (+2.7%). The sharpest falls were recorded in Latvia (-20.2%), France (-11.3%), the Czech Republic (-10.7%) and Bulgaria (-10.1%).
On an annual basis, orders in the chemical industry increased by 0.6% in the eurozone but fell by 0.5% in the EU27. The manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment fell by 9.8% and 7.0% respectively. The metallurgy and metal-working industry fell by 11.7% in the eurozone and 12.3% in the EU27. Textiles and clothing fell by 14.9% and 14.0% respectively, and machinery and equipment manufacture fell by 16.6% and 16.5%. Transport equipment fell by 33.3% and 37.8%. By country, order-based manufacturing fell in seventeen Member States and increased only in Romania (+18.4%), Latvia (+6.6%) and Ireland (+0.6%). The sharpest falls were recorded in the Czech Republic (-24.2%), Spain (-20.1%), Germany (-17.7%), Sweden (-17.6%) and France (-17.4%). (A.B. trans fl)