Steep Q1 decline in orders for Italian textile machinery

In the first quarter of 2020, the order intake of Italian textile machinery registered a sharp decline, with the Covid-19 pandemic impacting heavily on the sector. The consequences on the orders will be more negative in the second quarter, according to the sector association.

The index of orders intake for textile machines drawn up by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period from January to March 2020 fell by 31% compared to the same period of 2019. The index value stood at 72.2 basis points (2015 = 100).

Orders intake was negative both on foreign markets and in Italy. In foreign markets, orders were down 26%, while on the domestic market they were down 57% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

"The orders index sank compared to 2019, a year already negative,” ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi, comments. “Indeed in 2019 the Italian textile machinery industry observed a decrease both in production ( down 13%) and in exports (down 14%) compared to the previous year."

Following a difficult year, Italian textile machinery has had to face the Covid-19 pandemic, which led, as a first consequence, to the slowdown of the main markets in the sector, China, Turkey and India, in the first month of 2020.

ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises roughly 300 manufacturers (employing around 12,000 people), which produces machinery to the value of EUR 2.3 billion, 82% of which is exported. “Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the hallmarks that have made Italian textile machinery worldwide leaders,” ACIMIT concludes.