Italian textile machinery orders, as elaborated by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period from April to June 2019, fell by 19 % compared to the same period in 2018. The index orders value came in at 84 basis points (2015=100).
Orders for Italian machinery manufacturers were negative in foreign markets, with a 21 % decline and an absolute index value of 78.6 basis points. On the domestic front, on the other hand, orders remained stationary compared to the second quarter 2018. The absolute index value came in at 140.1 basis points.
ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi thus commented the economic situation, “The orders index as compiled by our Economics Department perfectly reflects the situation that we as entrepreneurs have found in many markets in this first part of the year. The uncertainty due to a tension-laden geopolitical situation was further weighed down for our sector by the awaiting of ITMA, the world’s premier textile machinery fair, which took place in Barcelona last June.”
“ITMA is our industry’s main showcase, held every four years to present the most innovative textile technology solutions,” explains Zucchi. “Many of our customers have postponed investments to await news presented at the fair.” The level of success, measured in terms of overall visitors and contacts recorded by Italian machinery manufacturers during the event, lends a positive note for year-end growth on foreign markets.
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 12000 people), which produce machinery for an overall worth of around EUR 2.5 billion euros, of which 83 % are exported. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery worldwide leaders.