ITALY – In the January-June 2021 period, the orders of wood-furniture machinery and tools increased by 100.3 percent compared to the same semester of 2020.

The demand from international markets – reaffirming the industry’s traditional export vocation – recorded an 88.7 percent increase, while the domestic market was even livelier, with orders up by 190.8 percent. These results are quite significant, but we have to consider that they compare with the first half of 2020, i.e. the period when the Covid 19 pandemic had its strongest impact on the world’s entire economic and production system. Nevertheless, this growth trend is significant, not just a simple “rebound” but a significant structural expansion.

On a semester-on-semester basis, the first half 2021 showed a positive trend compared to the previous six months, from July to December 2020, with orders growing by 42.2 percent (31.9 percent for international demand,  49.2 percent in Italy).

“These figures are encouraging and help us forget the troubles we have been going through in our industrial and economic life”, said Luigi De Vito, president of Acimall (Italian Woodworking Machinery, and Tools Manufacturers’ Association) . “If we add that the January-June 2021 period recorded a 40.2 percent growth compared to the first half 2019, we cannot regard this as just a “rebound”, but an organic and structural trend, witnessing to the global competitiveness of our industry and our role of reference partner for the Italian manufacturing industry, an established model of style and quality”. “Unfortunately, there are still a few doubts about the near future, mostly due to the scarcity of raw materials, components and aggregates. This situation is negatively affecting the lead time of material supplies, a problem that must be solved as soon as possible to stop the rising trend of prices”, De Vito concluded.