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The two releases scheduled for Tuesday, 6 October 2026, delivered a mixed picture: German factory orders plunged 10.6% in August, but fell only 0.1% when large-scale orders were excluded; UK construction activity contracted at a slower pace, with the PMI rising to 46.1 from 44.3.
What did Germany’s factory-orders figures show?
Destatis reported that real, price-adjusted new orders fell 10.6% month on month in August 2026, seasonally and calendar adjusted. On a calendar-adjusted basis, orders were 2.7% higher than a year earlier. Destatis labelled the August figures provisional. Destatis’s 6 October release provides the underlying figures.
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The headline decline needs the large-order context. Excluding large-scale orders, August orders slipped just 0.1% from July. The three-month comparison was up 1.3% overall, but down 2.6% excluding large-scale orders.
July’s monthly result was revised to a 3.2% increase. Destatis said an exceptional volume of orders for ships, rail rolling stock and aircraft had lifted the earlier reported change; the revised year-on-year rate for July was 14.0%. The August reversal therefore partly reflects the contrast with an unusually strong month, rather than a uniform collapse across orders.
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Did UK construction return to growth?
No. The September UK construction PMI rose to 46.1 from 44.3 in August, beating the 45.0 forecast listed by Investing.com, but remained below 50. In the PMI survey, 50 marks no change: readings below it indicate contraction. The increase therefore points to a slower rate of decline, not a return to growth. Reuters reported the 46.1 and 44.3 readings; Investing.com listed the 45.0 forecast and the actual and previous readings on its construction PMI calendar.
Reuters also reported a new-orders reading of 45.9, down from 47.7 in August and a three-month low. Housebuilding remained the weakest segment, followed by civil engineering; commercial construction recorded only a small decline. Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, told Reuters: “Total new orders were relatively subdued in September as construction firms reported longer sales conversion cycles and clients deferred decision-making on major projects.” Reuters’s report is the source for those survey details and the quotation.
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How to read the two releases together
Germany’s monthly headline was heavily affected by large-scale orders, so the 10.6% fall is more informative when read alongside the 0.1% decline excluding them and the contrasting three-month measures. In the UK, the PMI improved against August and beat the listed forecast, yet remained in contraction, while the reported new-orders balance weakened. These are snapshots of August orders and September construction activity; neither alone establishes a durable trend.
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