Every year, the Studies office of Acimall, the Confindustria member association that represents woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers, issues an industry report, a source of up-to-date information about the development of the industry and the association activity accessible to a large audience. The annual report also includes a detailed analysis of final industry figures in 2017.
The Italian production of woodworking machine tools amounted to 2,272 million euro, with an increase by more than 10 percent compared to the previous year. This is a niche sector with two unique elements and very high added value. The first one is the trade balance, positive by 1,400 million euro, offering a major contribution to Italy’s trade surplus. The second element is the share on apparent consumption, equal to 70 percent, which is really high: this means that the Italian woodworking industry, world leader for design and quality, prefers to purchase made-in-Italy technology. This is further evidence that Italian machinery manufacturers can respond effectively to all customers, wherever they are.
Also in 2017, incentives for Industry 4.0 initiatives drove the expansion of Italian technology orders in Italy. The turnover of the domestic market was very close to 700 million euro, up by 21.1 percent from 2016.
Looking at historical trends, in 2008 the Italian production of woodworking machines and tools amounted to 2,123 million euro, before economic depression caused a loss by 40 percent points approximately. It was a real shock that put Italian companies to a hard test: unfortunately, the reaction of companies was not fast and business reorganization processes were ineffective. The rebound was not significant and in 2011 the levels of Italian production were still 20% below pre-crisis volumes.
The following years, until early 2014, were the worst of this historical period. Stagnation involved the domestic market and most foreign markets, while the industry showed a widening gap between the positive trend of bigger companies and the negative trend of low-revenue businesses.
This situation is still visible today, as the internationalization process in most markets is no longer limited to export alone, but it increasingly involves processes and operations such as joint ventures, direct foreign investments or mergers with local actors, even in remote markets. Obviously, not all industry companies can adopt such approach on a global scale.
Back to historical trends, there was a clear turning point in 2014. The US market, often considered a forerunner of economic trends, started to grow at double-digit rates, and gradually also European and Asian markets showed a similar trend.
The years 2016 and 2017 were characterized by strong expansion on the domestic market. For two consecutive years, the domestic demand of Italian technology increased by more than twenty percent.
The report then focuses on the international trade of the most important woodworking machinery manufacturers.
Germany preserves its historical leadership with over 2.2 billion euro worth of equipment exported in 2017, mainly due to the lack of competitors in specific segments, especially upstream the supply chain.
Italy remains at number two, close to one and a half billion euro of exported goods, with an extensive market coverage as a result of globalization policies that range from direct export, to reseller sales, up to foreign offices and sometimes even manufacturing sites abroad. According to tradition, the Italian offer is mostly concentrated in secondary wood processing, especially panel processing, although there are leaders also in other sectors.
China has maintained the third position and has become an established manufacturing actor all over the world. Product prices, very affordable, have always been the key strength of Asian industries, but in recent years the technological standards of machinery have improved, which will inevitably lead to an adjustment of consumer prices. The most important business is still traditional machines.
The ranking of the top-six global exporting countries is completed by Taiwan, Austria and the United States.
The full document is published on the acimall.com website and is accessible to all users. So, all in all, 2017 was more than positive. What can we expect in 2018? Preliminary figures published by Acimall’s Studies office suggest that the end-of-year sign will still be positive, though less than in recent years. On the export side, recent figures indicate an increase by approximately 3 percent, mainly supported by the consolidation of top destination markets. On the domestic side, the positive effect of incentives introduced with the Industria 4.0 plan has faded, although the super-amortization and the Sabatin bis law, both still active, are an interesting lever for investments in production plants.
Finally, 2018 was the year of Xylexpo, the biennial exhibition of woodworking technology held in Milan from 8 to 12 May. The trend of the event reflected the health of the market, as usual. The gap is widening between structured organizations that can introduce continuous product innovations and consequently achieve great results at an exhibition, and companies that, without any strategic renovation of their products and marketing, cannot seize all the opportunities available on the international markets.
