Order intake in Germany's electrical and digital industry declined for the second month in a row in February, the ZVEI association representing the sector reported on Tuesday.
February orders came in 10% down on the same month last year. "This means that order intake declined just as strongly as in the previous month of January," ZVEI chief economist Andreas Gontermann said.
Foreign orders fell back by 11.9%, while the decline was less marked in domestic orders at a fall of 7.6%.
Turnover and production in the sector, which employs an estimated 900,000 workers also declined on the year, with production down by 5.5% in real terms compared with February last year.
Turnover was down by 3.9% in nominal terms at €18.4 billion euros ($20.0 billion).
According to figures released recently, orders fell by 1.9% overall last year compared with the previous year. Turnover in the sector rose by 6.6% in nominal terms – including price increases – to a record of €239.4 billion.
