Exports and factory data lift economic outlook

Bayern Munich has renewed its call for other Bundesliga clubs to do more to build the league’s profile abroad as the German champions wrap up a tour of South Korea and Hong Kong.

“Internationalization cannot be a solo effort by one club. We all have to do it together in the Bundesliga, and the Bundesliga has to step up significantly,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said in Hong Kong.

“It cannot be that Bayern alone is pulling the cart,” he added, calling for much more active support from across the league.

RB Leipzig travelled to South Africa after last season, Borussia Dortmund visited Japan this summer and second-tier Paderborn is due to travel to the United States in September.

However, Bayern board member for marketing and sales Rouven Kasper pointed to attendance at the league’s internationalization commission, saying only 19 of 36 clubs turned up to its annual meeting.

“That already shows that many simply have no interest,” he said.

Germany’s National Security Council has met to discuss the explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig/Halle Airport earlier this week.

The talks were held by telephone on Friday and chaired by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said.

Merz, who is currently on holiday, has remained in “constant contact” with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and other members of the government over the incident.

The drone was discovered by an airport employee overnight Tuesday into Wednesday in a secure cargo area. Federal police specialists defused an explosive device attached to it.

Several Ukrainian cargo aircraft were nearby at the time. Leipzig/Halle Airport is used as a hub for military aid shipments to Ukraine.

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation on Thursday because of what it described as the case’s “particular significance.”

Suspicion has focused on Russia, but investigators have so far presented no evidence linking Moscow to the incident.

A huge fire at a farm near the city of Augsburg in the southern German state of Bavaria has killed more than 1,000 pigs.

The pig barn and a second building were fully engulfed in flames on Thursday evening, fire officials said.

Firefighters battled the blaze throughout the night and continued to extinguish hotspots on Friday morning. Local farmers joined the response, using tractors to bring large water tanks to the scene.

Heavy smoke initially prompted authorities to tell nearby residents to keep windows and doors closed, although police later said there was no longer any danger to the public.

A nearby state road remained closed, and motorists were asked to avoid the area.

Investigators have not yet worked out what caused the blaze and said there were no initial signs of arson.

The remains of the barn were initially too dangerous to enter, but officials said they believed none of the animals inside had survived.

Police, citing the farmer, said around 1,600 pigs had been housed there, while the fire service put the number at between 1,200 and 1,300.

German energy giant RWE has abandoned several planned offshore wind projects in the United States after reaching a $1.22 billion (just over €1 billion) settlement with the Trump administration.

Under the agreement with the US Interior Department, RWE’s American wind subsidiary will drop claims against the government and return offshore lease rights for sites off New York, California and Louisiana.

The Essen-based company said it had already invested more than $1 billion in developing the projects.

“After careful consideration, it was determined that these projects in the US have no realistic prospect of obtaining permits for the foreseeable future,” RWE said.

The company now plans to redirect investment toward liquefied natural gas and other gas projects in the United States.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked wind power, calling turbines ugly and describing green energy policies as a “green scam.”

German exports have climbed to a record high, with companies shipping goods worth €139.3 billion ($160.5 billion) abroad in June.

That narrowly beat the previous peak set in September 2022, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office.

Imports also rose strongly, leaving Germany with a trade surplus of €15.4 billion.

The United States remained Germany’s biggest export market, but shipments there fell sharply from May.

Exports to the UK increased, while those to China were broadly stable.

China remained Germany’s biggest source of imports, with purchases from the country rising strongly during the month.

Across the first six months of 2026, German exports were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, while imports rose 4.4%.

Germany still recorded a sizeable trade surplus of €105 billion over the period.

Germany’s industrial production has risen for a third consecutive month, adding to signs that the country’s struggling manufacturing sector may be stabilizing.

Output increased by 0.2% in June from the previous month, following a revised 0.7% rise in May, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Economists had expected production to remain unchanged.

The automotive industry provided much of the boost, with output rising 3.6% from May.

Production of other transport equipment, including aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles, jumped 8.4%, while mechanical engineering output fell 3.9%.

Overall industrial production was still 0.1% lower than in June last year.

“The industrial downturn now appears to be over,” said Jens-Oliver Niklasch, an economist at German regional bank LBBW. “We have achieved a certain degree of stability.”

Niklasch said recent economic data provided grounds for cautious optimism heading into the second half of the year, although energy supplies, geopolitical tensions and low river levels remained risks.

“All in all, however, things looked worse four or five months ago than they do today,” he said.

Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as Germany enjoys a rare bit of encouraging economic news.

Exports hit a record high in June, with companies shipping goods worth €139.3 billion (about $161 billion) abroad. That narrowly beat a previous peak nearly four years ago.

Industrial production also rose for a third month in a row, adding to hopes that Germany’s long-struggling factory sector may be stabilizing.

Stay with us here for these stories and more of the things that Germany is talking about today.