Business

Italian Textile Machinery Exports To China Slow Down In Q3 2018

The orders index for textile machinery compiled by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period ranging from July to September 2018, has proven stable compared to the same period for 2017. Indeed, the value of the index stood at 108.3 basis points (2015 basis =100). However, orders gathered by Italian machinery manufacturers show contrasting trends. In Italy, the index stood at an absolute value of 121.9 basis points, i.e. a 30% increase compared to the period from July to September 2017. On the other hand, in terms of foreign markets, the index actually fell by 2%, with an absolute value of 107.4 basis points. This data prompted ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi to comment, “In many primary foreign markets, our manufacturers have experienced a slowdown for the first nine months of the year. In China, above all, our main export destination, trade tensions with the United States have in fact halted investment plans for many textile manufacturers. Despite the uncertainty that characterises many markets, I believe that for our industry, 2018 will close at levels in line with those of the previous year” ACIMIT represents an industrial sector that comprises around 300 companies (employing roughly 12,000 people), manufacturing machinery for an overall value of about 2.9 billion euros, of which 84% is exported.