Milan - A significant increase in orders from both domestic and international customers has brought a welcome boost to Italy's textile machinery industry.
The latest figures from ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, show that the index of orders was up 66 per cent during the period January-March 2021 compared to the same period for 2020. The value of the index was confirmed at 129.3 points (basis: 2015 = 100).
Encouragingly, the increase was a result of a positive performance from both Italian and overseas customers. This included a 68 per cent increase from foreign markets, with the absolute value of the index reaching 125.5 points. On the domestic side, the upward trend in orders was more contained, but still significant (+54% compared to the first quarter of 2020), with an absolute value of the index at 164.1 points.
Welcoming the upturn, ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi noted that the significant increase in orders should be compared with the first quarter of 2020 results, the period in which the pandemic began and production almost completely stopped.
"Still, these numbers are certainly encouraging,” adds Zucchi, “even though the pandemic is still not under control, especially in countries that are essential markets for our industry, such as India. Investments in the textile sector have thus seen a rather patchy recovery. Without a widespread vaccination plan on a global scale, our people remain limited in their movements, jeopardizing the possibility of seizing business opportunities in different markets.”
He continued: “A future recovery is also threatened by rising prices for raw materials. A significant growth trend is currently under way, beginning from last summer and continuing to swell between late 2020 and early 2021. These price hikes are pushing up input costs and, in the absence of a price adjustment, the negative impacts for machinery manufacturers could be quite significant.”
