ACIMIT
Signs of recovery for the Italian textile machinery industry

The Italian textile machine industry has ended the first half of 2004 with total order receipts still negative. The fall-off, however, is only in the Italian market while there are comforting signs coming from abroad.
Based on the data processed by ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery Producers, the orders received by the Italian producers operating in this sector in the first half of 2004 fell by 1% compared to the same period in 2003. The order index is now 73.5 (base year 2000=100). It is, however, comforting to see the trend inversion compared to the previous six months. At the end of 2003, in fact, the lowest point over the last three years was reached, with a further deterioration in the already precarious economic situation.
Companies, however, are still worried about the trends in the domestic market. The overall value of the order index, in fact, is strongly influenced by the significant drop in orders in Italy (-22%), a figure that confirms the difficulties which the downstream sectors are still experiencing.
On the other hand, the first signs of a slow, recovery came from abroad. The total receipt of orders from foreign markets, in fact, increased by 4% compared to the first half of 2003. The production capacity used also reached, over the first half of the year, decidedly more acceptable levels (85%) than last year.
Note, finally, that every textile machinery sector is experiencing a peculiar situation which reflects the trends in the various customer sectors.
Commenting on the survey data, Dr. Alberto M. Sacchi, the President of ACIMIT, emphasised how "the positive result from abroad, albeit modest, is yet further proof of the ability of the Italian companies in this sector to react to the various market stages. Despite the major devaluation of the dollar and the difficulties in certain important markets, such as the USA and the European Union, Italian textile machinery is still highly regarded for its technology and excellent quality/price ratio".
Italy's leadership in the sector, a position challenged by Germany alone, is seen by the high percentage of exports within the total turnover (75% in 2003). The main market for Italian textile machinery is Turkey (412 million Euros in 2003), followed by China (396 million Euros) and the United States (102 million Euros).
"To continue to be competitive in the face of the continuous stream of old and new competitors, says Alberto M. Sacchi, we need a further commitment from our companies, who must focus on continuous innovation. Because of the peculiar structure of the industry, made up of small- and medium-sized enterprises, what is required now is a substantial contribution from the public authorities for financing research and development, which is especially costly for these small- and medium-sized enterprises".
There must also be public support on the domestic front, especially during this difficult economic period, which is marked out by an accentuated weakness in demand. "We need incentives, Sacchi continues”, to revitalise the domestic market and to boost the investment cycle. One way to do this could be the liberalising of depreciation shares, as we have already proposed over and over again".