Skip to main content
Share
Print Friendly and PDF
State of the Industry Report: Italian Textile Machinery 2015 - Exports Up!
In the last quarter of 2015, Italian textile machinery manufacturers received a boost from their export markets, but in domestic markets, positive order trends received a setback. As per an Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) press release, the orders index for textile machinery grew during the fourth quarter of 2015, mainly due to a boost in exports. Based on the survey conducted by ACIMIT, during October-December 2015, the order intake for machinery manufacturers rose by 2 per cent compared to the same period of previous year. “The value of the index for October-December 2015 stood at 89.1 points as against a 2010 basis of 100 points,” ACIMIT said. However, growth was observed in foreign markets only, where the index registered an absolute value of 99.3 points or 3 per cent.

“In Italy, the index had an absolute value of just 46.5 points, an 11 per cent drop over the same quarter for 2014, bucking the trend of the previous two quarters,” the trade body added. Raffaella Carabelli, president of ACIMIT said, “2015 has closed well overall in terms of orders, with a growing sense of confidence for 2016.” “This is a positive result that may be further strengthened over the first half of 2016 if the numerous contacts made at ITMA 2015 materialise,” she added. “As for the domestic market, we weren't expecting this sort of setback after two positive quarters, however, ITMA has confirmed the many signs of recovery, even for Italy,” Carabelli stated.

“We witnessed a recovery in the Chinese market for the second half of 2015 and generally speaking, Asian markets like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam account for growth in our sales,” Carabelli noted. Meanwhile, ACIMIT informed that, Italian export figures, updated to the first ten months of 2015, confirm the current positive trend in orders. In 2016, with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development and Italian Trade Agency, ACIMIT aims to further push its internationalization efforts. Around twenty countries or markets will be touched by promotional initiatives favouring the penetration of Italy's textile machinery sector. Among these are projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Iran, areas which, Italian businesses are approaching for the first time or after years of partial closure. (AR)