German engineering sector reported a significant downturn in new orders for November 2024, with a 6% decrease compared to the same month last year. The Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA) highlighted that domestic orders specifically declined by 4%, while international orders painted a mixed picture. Orders from Eurozone countries increased by 5%, but those from non-Eurozone nations fell by 11%, leading to an overall 7% drop in foreign orders.

Simultaneously, corporate insolvencies in Germany have spiked to levels not seen since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009. According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (IWH), 4,215 companies, affecting nearly 38,000 jobs, filed for bankruptcy in the last quarter of 2024. This represents a 36% increase from the previous year's fourth quarter, marking the highest insolvency rate since mid-2009, with the last comparable peak occurring in 2005.