Orders taken by Italian textile machinery manufacturers during the year’s first quarter show moderate growth of 8% over the previous year, thanks mainly to a positive performance in foreign markets, ACIMIT reports.

For the first quarter of 2015, the orders index for textile machinery, as processed by the Research Department at ACIMIT, the Association of Italian textile machinery manufacturers, recorded an 8% increase over the same period for the previous year.

The total value of orders placed during the period from January to March stood at 87.3 points (base year 2010=100).

Decline in domestic market

The situation appears very different between the domestic market in Italy and foreign markets. The latter recorded a 17% increase compared to January-March 2014, with the foreign orders index standing at 100.3 points. In Italy, however, orders declined by 38% over the same period in 2014, with an index value at 33.5 points.

“Milano ITMA, the textile sector’s primary international trade fair, will be held this coming November. Many Italian textile industry operators are waiting for this event to look into the latest innovations, which will be presented at the event, so that they can plan their investments accordingly,” commented Raffaella Carabelli, ACIMIT President, justifying this strong decline in the domestic market.

“I’m therefore confident that by year’s end we’ll be witnessing an upswing in the domestic market, thanks also to the measures the government has adopted to stimulate a recovery in investments in Italy.”

Growth in foreign markets

The Italian textile machinery industry has been able to grow on foreign markets, thanks to a weaker euro against the dollar and some local currencies, the association reports. Turkey, India, the United States and other Asian countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, are markets that have continued to drive sales for Italian machinery manufacturers, even through the start of 2015.

In the meantime, with the ribbon cutting ceremony at ITMA just a few months away, the association offers a positive outlook for the fair’s upcoming 17th edition, which returns to Italy after a twenty year absence. Around 420 Italian companies will be exhibiting, with over 100,000 square metres of exhibition surface area sold, a 26% increase, compared to the previous edition held in Barcelona in 2011

“These figures are a confirmation of the confidence Italian businesses have in this event,” commented Raffaella Carabelli. “In partnership with the Ministry for Economic Development and the ICE-Agency, we’re implementing a series of initiatives (incoming missions for foreign delegations, awards to foreign university students, intensive communication activities, etc.), aimed at enhancing Italy’s presence at ITMA even more.”

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