Germany’s construction companies lifted their order intake in the first half year of 2025 by 7.2% over H1 2024, Kallanish learns from their association, Bauindustrie.
The association notes, however, that orders have increased from a low level, following a negative trend for four years. Residential construction, for example, achieved a year-on-year increase of 9.7%, but is still a considerable 31% below the level of 2021.
The last month of the reporting period, June, saw a lesser y-o-y increase, by 2.9%, and a drop versus May. This coincides with the sentiment poll of economic institute ifo (see separate story), which reports a deteriorating mood in the summer month of August, but nevertheless reports hope for the autumn months.
Bauinmdustrie notes the second quarter was more troubled than the first. It coincided with the decline in German GDP in Q2. The association sees the biggest hurdle to road infrastructure investments being government inaction.
It calls road construction the “problem child” of the industry, which it says has “virtually collapsed”. This segment saw a 5.7% decline in orders y-o-y in H1, which even worsened in June, with a drop of 13.2%. “If we do not see a revival in the second half, 2025 will be a lost year for road construction,” says managing director Tim-Oliver Müller.
Christian Koehl Germany
