According to the Economics Department of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, the order index for Italian textile machinery decreased by 19% in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the July–September 2023 period. The index was 50.6 points in value terms (base 2021=100).
Foreign markets, which make up 86% of total orders, have decreased by 23%, which is the cause of this decline. Instead, a 15% increase was observed in Italy compared to the third quarter of 2023. The absolute index value for foreign markets was 49.1 points, while in Italy it reached 61 points. In the third quarter, the order backlog amounted to 3.8 months of guaranteed production.
“The order index is still at low levels,” said Marco Salvadè, President of ACIMIT. The biggest worry is the demand from overseas. In several of the primary markets for Italian textile machinery, including Bangladesh, Turkey, and India, investments in machinery are still on hold.
The disparity observed overseas cannot be closed by the increase in order collecting in the home market alone. Additionally, it is necessary to compare the growth to the same quarter last year, when orders were already low. Italian producers are looking for fresh prospects in nations where the textile sector is still lacking in technical advancements due to the sluggish demand in a number of important countries. “To evaluate the local textile market and comprehend the technological requirements of its companies, ACIMIT recently arranged exploratory missions to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan,” Marco Salvadè continued.