As expected, there was again a decrease in the index of the orders collected by the Italian machine tool manufacturers in the second quarter 2020. In particular, according to the data processed by the Economic Studies Department & Business Culture of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, in the period April-June, the index registered a 39.1 percent downturn compared with the same period of 2019.
The outcome was due both to the reduction in the orders collected by Italian manufacturers on the domestic market (–44.7 percent) and to the fall reported on the foreign market (–37.8 percent).
“In the month of April,” said Massimo Carboniero, president of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, “the machine tool manufacturing enterprises, as well as a good part of their customers, remained closed, stopping both their production and trade activities. All this has strongly affected the overall performance of the quarter, which shows a difficult situation for the operators of the manufacturing industry.”
“The uncertainty generated by the pandemic and its asynchronous spread in the different areas of the world complicates matters and, undoubtedly, slows down investments in production systems, but we, the Italian manufacturers, are receiving some small signs of recovery, especially from the domestic market,” said Carboniero. “After all, according to the data processed by UCIMU, based on the econometric survey of the renowned Oxford Institute of Economics, after the slowdown of the current year, in 2021, investments in new production technologies should rise again. The demand for new machine tools in Italy is thus expected to grow by 31.5 percent versus 2020, exceeding 3.5 billion euro. Even Europe should be more dynamic, increasing consumption by 19.5 percent to nearly 18 billion euros. Asia, with China in front, should have new impetus, registering a 35.3 percent demand growth, corresponding to 34 billion euro, and so should America, expected to invest 11 billion euros in new production systems, i.e. 31 percent more than in 2020.”
“With these indications,” said Carboniero, “we really hope that the worst is over and that the next months can be characterized by a trend reversal, preceding the recovery expected in 2021. Also owing to this, UCIMU is working intensely on the organization of the 32nd BI-MU, scheduled to take place from October 14–17. It will be the first exhibition of the year for the operators of the sector and, considering the time positioning, it can still benefit from the incentive measures provided for in the Transition Plan 4.0 until the end of the year.”
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