The index of orders for textile machinery developed by ACIMIT – the Association of Italian textile machinery manufacturers – was up by 66 per cent in Q1 ’21 (Jan.-Mar. ’21 period) on Y-o-Y basis.
The value of the index was attested to 129.3 points (base 2015 = 100).
According to Alessandro Zucchi, President, ACIMIT, these are the first positive signs for the collection of orders for Italian textile machines. “The order index is growing, but concerns remain about a still weak recovery and the persistent incidence of the pandemic,” commented Zucchi.
The increase in orders can be attributed to good enquiries for Italian textile machines as pandemic showed signs of slowing down by 2020 end, before creating ruckus in mid of March this year in several countries where manufacturing is a dominant sector.
The increase in the foreign markets was 68 per cent and the absolute value of the index reached 125.5 points. On the other hand, the growth in the domestic orders was more contained but still remained significant as orders upped by 54 per cent in Q1 ’21 as compared to the first quarter of 2020 with an absolute index value of 164.1 points.
“The data are still encouraging but the pandemic is not yet under control, especially in countries that represent key markets for the sector, just think of India. Investments in the textile sector have therefore seen a sharp recovery. Without a widespread vaccination plan on a global scale, the mobility of our staff remains limited, thus jeopardising the possibility of seizing business opportunities in various markets,” commented Zucchi.
Zucchi further added that the future recovery is also threatened by the sharp rise in the prices of raw materials. In the industrial commodity sector, non-ferrous metals have seen their price increase by 23 per cent between June 2020 and the first three months of 2021.
“The increase pushes the cost of inputs upwards and, in the absence of a price adjustment, the negative impact for our companies could be important,” concluded Zucchi.
