In 2024, the Italian capital goods manufacturing industry recorded a general decline across all its main economic indicators, a sign of the deep difficulties the sector has faced over the past 12 months. 2025 is expected to show a different trend, but results will still be significantly lower than those recorded in 2023.
This, in essence, is the conclusion drawn from the latest data collected by the Federmacchine Statistics Group, the federation of capital goods manufacturing companies.
According to estimates, in 2024, the sector’s revenue will settle at €52.207 million, a 7.8% drop compared to 2023. The result is weighed down by negative outcomes reported by companies both in foreign and domestic markets. Exports are expected to decrease to €36.213 million (down 3.9%).
In particular, according to data analyzed by the Statistics Group based on Istat figures, the main export markets for “Made in Italy” capital goods, in the period from January to September 2024 (the latest available data), were the United States (€2.460 million, up 3.8%), Germany (€1.850 million, down 4.1%), France (€1.213 million, down 1.3%), China (€806 million, down 4.7%), and Spain (€730 million, up 2.1%).
Deliveries to the domestic market are estimated to fall to €15.994 million, a 15.5% decrease compared to the previous year, affected by the drastic reduction in domestic machinery consumption, which will not exceed €25.239 million (down 17.4%).
2025 will return to positive growth. According to forecasts, revenue will rise to €53.255 million, an increase of 2% compared to 2024.
Exports will remain essentially stable at €36.456 million (up 0.7%). Deliveries by Italian manufacturers will see a 5% growth, reaching €16.799 million, driven by the recovery of domestic consumption, which, thanks to a 4.3% increase, will reach €26.327 million.
Bruno Bettelli, President of Federmacchine, commented: “After years of significant expansion, the Italian capital goods manufacturing industry has recently faced a profoundly different context. Geopolitical instability on one side and weak domestic demand on the other have deeply affected our results.
It is precisely the generalized complexity of the situation,” continued Bruno Bettelli, “that alarms us the most about the near future. Italian machinery companies are dealing with overseas challenges involving both nearby and distant countries, some of which are affected by ongoing conflicts in global hotspots. At the same time, they must address the critical issues of the Italian market, which remains significantly stagnant.”
“Regarding foreign markets, a sector like ours, which allocates well over half of its revenue to foreign markets, cannot help but be concerned about the situation in Germany, which has always driven the European economy but is now stuck in the crisis gripping the automotive sector. The same applies to France and Poland. Looking beyond Europe, the situation certainly doesn’t improve: after Russia disappeared from our radar, China has drastically reduced activity with euro-area players. The only lifeline at the moment remains the USA and Mexico, but the Trump factor makes it hard for us to rest easy.”
“Given this situation, beyond the individual associations’ initiatives in specific markets of interest, it is clear that the federation must work to support the internationalization of the Italian capital goods industry. To this end, the second edition of Ingenium, the study conducted by Federmacchine in collaboration with Confindustria – which we will present at the beginning of the year – aims to analyze the potential of this sector in the international market and measure (we hope) the progress of our industry compared to the results presented in the first edition conducted in 2023.”
“As for Italy,” concluded Bruno Bettelli, “we hope that the refinement of Transizione 5.0, included as an amendment to the Budget Law currently being debated in Parliament in these final days of the year, will indeed reinvigorate domestic demand. The Italian manufacturing industry needs innovation, and innovation primarily involves investments in new production machinery. For this reason, it is essential to already think beyond Transizione 4.0-5.0, which will effectively conclude at the end of 2025.”
