THE EU EXPORTS OF CAPITAL GOODS IN Q3-2026

The growth in European sales of capital goods (+6.9% year-on-year in euro) was driven by Tools and Equipment for ICT and Services and Electrical Engineering

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Metal industry Conjuncture Export Global economic trends
Stampa

EU exports of capital goods accelerated
in the third quarter of 2026

According to ExportPlanning pre-estimates based on Comext data, in the third quarter of 2026 European sales in the sector recorded year-on-year growth of +6.9% in euro terms, strengthening compared with both the first half of the year (+5.0%) and full-year 2025 (+4.0%). The picture therefore confirms a path of progressive consolidation in international demand for European-made capital goods.

Trends in EU exports of capital goods:
Year-over-Year changes in euro

Year-over-Year changes in euro
Industry Y2025 H1-2026 Q3-2026E
Electrical Engineering + 6.5% + 7.2% +10.2%
Tools and Equipment for ICT and Services + 8.7% +17.5% +28.7%
Industrial Tools and Equipment + 3.0% + 1.8% + 5.8%
Automotive + 2.0% + 1.7% - 3.6%
Agricultural Machinery + 5.0% + 5.5% - 2.3%
Earth-Moving Machinery + 6.4% +12.0% + 4.7%
Industrial Machinery - 0.2% - 5.8% + 8.3%
Industrial Plant Engineering + 5.0% + 2.3% + 4.4%
TOTAL Capital Goods + 4.0% + 5.0% + 6.9%
Source: ExportPlanning - EU Quarterly Trade Datamart

The drivers of growth

The largest contribution in Q3-2026 came from EU sales of tools and equipment for ICT and services1, which posted a year-on-year increase of +28.7% in the third quarter. This continues an already very strong trend in the first part of the year (+17.5%) and marks a sharp acceleration compared with 2025 (+8.7%), making this macro-sector the main driver of the entire aggregate2.

Next comes electrical engineering3, with year-on-year growth of +10.2% in Q3-2026: here too, the pace of expansion is strengthening quarter after quarter, following +7.2% in the first half and +6.5% in 2025.

The performance of the two sectors is particularly significant in light of the current international economic environment, characterized by increasing sectoral polarization in global trade. In a context where global demand is showing signs of weakness in consumer goods and more traditional sectors, technology-related supply chains are driving international trade growth, supported primarily by accelerating investment in Artificial Intelligence, digital infrastructure, and electrification (see World Trade: Increasingly Polarized Growth – July 2026 Update).

The recovery of industrial sectors

Positive signals are also emerging from the sectors most closely linked to manufacturing investment. In Q3-2026, EU sales of industrial machinery4 returned to positive territory (+8.3% year-on-year), after the year-on-year decline in the first half (-5.8%) and substantial stagnation in 2025 (-0.2%). EU exports of industrial tools and equipment5 also accelerated (+5.8% in Q3-2026, up from +1.8% in the first half), as did industrial plant engineering6 (+4.4%, up from +2.3%).

Slowdowns and declines

Not all sectors are taking part in the expansionary phase, however. Earth-moving machinery7 is still growing (+4.7% in Q3-2026), but at a markedly slower pace than the +12.0% recorded in the first half of the year. Automotive8 (-3.6% in Q3-2026) and agricultural machinery9 (-2.3%), on the other hand, moved into negative territory, after posting increases of +1.7% and +5.5% respectively in the first half.

Conclusions

The third quarter of 2026 paints a picture of European capital goods exports that are accelerating, but with growth that is increasingly concentrated. On the one hand, the ICT and electrical engineering supply chains are confirmed as the main drivers of demand; on the other, the recovery in machinery for industrial processes points to a possible revival of manufacturing investment. Weighing on the overall picture, by contrast, are transport equipment and agricultural machinery, whose performance in the coming months will need to be monitored.

1) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
2) The remarkable acceleration in EU sales of tools and equipment for ICT and services appears closely linked to the investment cycle in artificial intelligence infrastructure, which reached unprecedented levels in 2026. When reading the data, however, a price component should also be taken into account: since the changes are expressed in euro, growth also reflects rising component prices. The same cycle is likely to help explain the strong performance of electrical engineering, given that new digital infrastructure requires large supplies of power and cooling equipment. The sustainability of this trend over the coming quarters remains to be seen, in light of the constraints on electricity availability that are already shaping the location of new facilities, and the first signs of caution in financial markets about the return on such large investments.
3) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
4) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
5) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
6) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
7) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
8) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.
9) See the list of products covered in the relevant descriptive table.