In the first quarter of 2022, the index of machine tool orders processed by the Centro Studi & Cultura di Impresa of Ucimu-Sistemi per produrre marks a slight decrease (minus 3 percent) compared to the period January-March 2021. In absolute value, index stood at 164 (base 100 in 2015). The result was affected by the reduction in order intake on the domestic market, while orders from abroad are growing. In particular, on the foreign front, the orders collected grew by 5.3 percent compared to the same period last year. The absolute value of the index stood at 163.2.
The index of orders collected on the domestic market instead recorded a decrease of 15.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The absolute value of the index stood at 164.4.
“Activity on foreign markets is indispensable for Italian manufacturers, which is why, despite the difficulties induced first by the pandemic and then by the conflict, it is necessary to strengthen our initiative beyond the borders, not only to recover the ground lost in the last two years“, said Barbara Colombo, president of Ucimu-Sistemi per produrre. “The current situation must induce Italian machine tool manufacturers to review the order of priority of the markets: if it is important to continue to explore new areas of destination for the made in Italy sector, today it is essential to preside over and develop activities in traditional markets, I am thinking of Europe and the United States in particular, so as to secure market shares in the areas whose economies are more likely to establish trade relations in the near future“.
“On the domestic front, the slowdown recorded by Italian manufacturers on the domestic market is determined by two reasons: on the one hand, it compares with a result, that of the first quarter of 2021, decidedly positive; on the other hand, it can reasonably be the result of the decision of users to anticipate their purchase decisions in the last quarter, in order to enjoy the 4.0 incentives whose rates provided by the last budget law (2021) were higher than those of the current one (2022)“.
