#Associations

2020-05-06

Italian textile machinery: Strong decline in the 2020 first quarter

Italian textile machinery - The index of orders intake at constant value (Bases 2015=100) (c) 2020 ACIMIT

In the first quarter of 2020, the orders intake of Italian textile machinery registered a sharp drop. The Covid-19 pandemic impacts heavily on the sector. The consequences on the orders will be more negative in the second quarter.

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 the foreign markets orders were down 26%, while on the domestic market they marked -57% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

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

Following a difficult year, the Italian textile machinery had to face 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.