Manufacturing production in Germany and France fell sharply in March due to the corona crisis and measures to combat the virus outbreak. This was reported by the national statistical offices of Germany and France.

In German industry, production plunged by 9.2 percent compared to February. This is the sharpest fall in production since the measurements were started in 1991. Economists expected an average fall in industrial production in Europe’s largest economy of 7.4 percent. A minus of 16.2 percent was reported for French industry.

In the German car industry in particular, production fell sharply, by almost a third. German car factories have been shut down because of the crisis. But other industrial products were also less produced, such as investment and consumer goods. In the French car industry, production shrank as well, as factories closed.