The Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) has drawn up an orders index for textile machinery for the period of October to December 2019, showing an 8 percent drop compared to the same period for 2018.
Orders compiled by Italian machinery manufacturers were in negative figures both abroad and in the domestic markets. An 8% slide was recorded abroad, with the absolute value of the index standing at 89.4 points. On the other hand, the drop in order collection on the domestic market stood at 7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. The absolute value of the index stood at 138.1 points.
After a difficult year, the Italian textile machinery sector is looking to 2020 with some concern. ACIMIT President Alessandro Zucchi says, “For the current year, there are many unknown factors, both at an economic and political level, that do not appear in the short term to point to a recovery in demand for textile machinery in major markets; China, Turkey and India. Our machinery manufacturers need to be ready to seize opportunities that originate from the request for sustainability and digitisation of production processes.”
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 12,000 people), which produces machinery for an overall worth of around 2.5 billion euros, of which 83% are exported.
