German manufacturers booked 10.6% fewer orders in August than in July in real, seasonally and calendar-adjusted terms. Excluding large orders, the preliminary monthly fall was only 0.1%. Extending the comparison to three months changes the picture again. Total orders from June to August were 1.3% above the preceding three months, while orders excluding large contracts were 2.6% lower.
A sizeable contract enters the order book when it is awarded, even if production will run across several financial years. Its booking date can therefore stand out much more sharply in the monthly statistics than the work it eventually generates. A month with no comparable order does not mean factories suddenly have less to do.
For an assessment of underlying demand, the two series answer different questions. Excluding large contracts helps reveal movements in recurring business. The total still matters because an unusually large job can shape production schedules, deliveries and invoicing well beyond the month in which it was booked.