Looking at the overall balance sheet for the first six months of 2026, total orders posted a 4% decline compared to the first half of 2025, split between -11% in Italy and -3% abroad.

While the year-on-year comparison suffers from particularly challenging baselines, the quarter-on-quarter perspective offers a picture of strong recovery. Compared to the first quarter of 2026 (January–March), total order intake surged by 25%, driven by a lively rebound in both domestic (+39%) and international (+23%) demand.

On the operational front, the total backlog accumulated by companies currently guarantees about 3.5 months of assured production, while the capacity utilization rate stood at 79.7%.

Analyzing the dynamics of individual production sectors compared to the first quarter of the year, order trends in the domestic market were growing or stationary across all segments, with sharp increases in spinning and weaving. In international markets, positive growth prevailed particularly in the weaving, knitting, and finishing sectors.

Regarding sales forecasts for the third quarter of 2026, company expectations point to substantial stability in volumes compared to the previous period; caution prevails in the domestic market, while expectations on foreign markets are balanced between increases and decreases, reflecting cautious optimism.

Marco Salvadè, president of ACIMIT, commented: “Despite the international uncertainty, it is comforting that the indicator, albeit slightly, is positive in the foreign market, given that about 80% of our order intake comes from international countries. The context of the domestic market is different, as it suffers both from comparison with a positive second quarter of 2025 and from the new 2026-2028 hyper-depreciation incentive launched in June, whose effects are not yet visible in terms of investments.”