The order intake index for textile machinery compiled by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for April-June 2018 period fell by 15 per cent compared to the same period for 2017. The index value stood at 103.4 basis points (2015 basis = 100).
This drop affected both the domestic and foreign markets. In Italy, the index stood at an absolute value of 141.4 basis points, ie, 13 per cent less than for the period of April-June 2017. For foreign markets, sales fell by 14 per cent and the index stood at an absolute value of 99.6 basis points.
As ACIMIT’s President Alessandro Zucchi confirms, “Surely the global market for the sector has tended to settle somewhat. After two years of significant investments, textile manufacturers are now tightening up. However, growth margins still exist in a variety of countries.â€Â
This fact appears even more relevant for Italy’s domestic market where, although registering a drop with respect to 2017, the order intake index for the second quarter has shown growth compared to the corresponding value for the year’s first quarter. "Following an initial period of uncertainty, the confirmation of fiscal incentives for 2018 have helped re-launch investments in advanced technologies by Italian textile companies," states Zucchi.
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 manufacturers (employing close to 12,000 people) and producing machinery for an overall value of about Euro2.9 billion, with exports amounting to more than 84 per cent of total sales. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the characteristics which have made Italy a global leader in the manufacturing of textile machinery.