Machinery News

Italian machinery sector in upbeat mood

Representing about 170 manufacturers of plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds, Assocomaplast presented ISTAT data for January-September 2010 to confirm the recovery.

Exports recorded overall growth of 6.5% compared to the same period in 2009, with a 5.2% loss of share for the European market (-2.2% EU, -15.6% the rest of Europe), which is still the major destination of Italian exports (56% of the total).

An opposite trend is shown for the US market, which ranks second globally at over EUR277 million (almost 20% of the total). This is a result of a recovering trend both towards the NAFTA area (EUR131 million, 23.3% better than the previous period) and toward South America in particular (just over EUR135 million, +64.7%).

A positive mood is recorded in Asia too, above all in the Far East (+31%) and China, with the latter marking a strong rebound (+43%) and now ranking second among the main Italian export destination markets.

The survey carried out in December by Assocomaplast among its members shows that more than 70% of respondents expect the full year 2010 to bring in increased revenues with respect to the previous year, half of them looking forward to performance of better than +10%. With respect to October 2010, 40% of companies recorded order increases in November, with recovery signals from the Russia, which returns among the top five destination markets.