Annual changes: In December 2007 compared with December 2006, new orders for machinery & equipment increased by 6.5% in the euro area and by 7.4% in the EU27. Manufacturing of electrical & electronic equipment grew by 4.3% and 7.4 % respectively. Chemicals & chemical products rose by 2.8% in the euro area and by 4.4% in the EU27.
Basic metals & fabricated metal products increased by 1.5% in the euro area, but fell by 0.2% in the EU27. Manufacture of transport equipment fell by 1.5% in the euro area, but gained 15.7% in the EU27. Manufacturing of textiles & textile products decreased by 4.0% and 2.6% respectively.
Among the Member States for which data are available for December 2007, total manufacturing working on orders rose in ten and fell in nine. The highest increases were registered in Poland (+87.3%), Romania (+31.5%) and Lithuania (+19.9%), while the largest decreases were recorded in Bulgaria (-11.2%), Ireland (-9.4%) and Portugal (-7.7%).