Italiensk værktøjsmaskinsalg dykker i fjerde kvartal
- Support for innovation and reconstitution of the new ICE in the short term, are the indispensable measures in order to maintain growth of the sector, says Giancarlo Losma, UCIMU president.
Despite the slowdown in the end of the year, the 2011 average index of orders for the Italian manufacturers, registered an increase of 12.8% compared to 2010, for an absolute value of 93, the highest recorded in the last three year-period.
The result of this last survey, after seven consecutive quarters recording increases, is therefore attributable to the fact that it has been compared to a particularly positive period, as confirmed by the absolute index of the fourth quarter of 2010 that reached 108.6.
From a more exhaustive analysis of the data, an increasingly higher discrepancy, between the data coming from the domestic market and those of the foreign market, emerges.
On an annual base, the index of the orders collected by the manufacturers domestically marks a fall of 11.9% (for an absolute value of 55.2). On the other hand, the index of foreign orders recorded an increase of 20.9%, compared to the previous year (for an absolute value of 116.3).
With reference to the foreign markets, according to the last survey carried out by UCIMU Studies Dept. on the base of ISTAT data, in the period January-October 2011, the main outlet markets for Italian supply of machine tools were: China (+11.5% compared to the first ten months of 2010), Germany (+55.9%), United States (+104%), Brazil (+60.2%), France (+20.1%), India (+13.5%), Russia (+16.3%), Turkey (+59.2%), Poland (+42.3%), and Spain (16.3%).
- In the light of this data – said Giancarlo Losma, UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE president – there are two considerations clearly emerging. First of all we do not believe that the slowdown recorded in this last quarter anticipates a new period of difficulty. Currently there are no elements demonstrating an inversion in trend and therefore the start of a new negative cycle for the Italian machine tools, robots and automation industry. On the contrary a fact on all shows the level of efficiency that characterises the industries of the sector: the index of production capacity that, in the fourth quarter of the year, reached 80%.
- Certainly - continued Losma - the still unstable context does not reassure us completely but the hope is that the measures adopted by the current Government, with the Salva Italia (Save Italy) Decree and with the Cresci Italia (Grow Italy) Decree adopted in the last few days, can be fruitful. We are confident of the work of this Administration which is showing the determination and the desire of raising the destiny of the country by supporting the development of the economic system in its complexity.
- The second consideration – added UCIMU president – refers to the widening discrepancy between the results obtained by the manufacturers with the domestic and foreign users. The continuous and chronic reduction in domestic orders is not directly connectable to the reorganization of the domestic consumption which, partially, has simply changed its needs, favouring standard and medium range products.
- This is the reason why manufacturers decided to direct their offer of high technology with highly customization abroad where margins are more rewarding against the necessity of increasing research and innovation activities, indispensable to keep up with foreign competitors. In consideration of this – continued Giancarlo Losma – despite knowing that the available resources are scarce, we ask to the government authorities, according to the drawn development program, to include concrete measures to support the companies that choose innovation. The risk is indeed that, short in resources, the Italian companies of the capital goods loose their advantage in competitiveness that still sees them as the favourite compared to the foreign competitors. This may lead to the natural extinction of a strategic sector for the economic system of the country.
- On the other hand the growing activity on foreign markets, as shown by the increased trend towards exports of the companies of the sector, which grown by more than ten percentage points in the last four years (reaching over 67%), requires us to push for the reconstitution of the Italian institute for foreign trade (as anticipated in the decree of last December). In the hope that the decisional bodies of the new organization are composed by people truly competent in internationalisation.
