ITALY - According to preliminary figures published by Acimall (Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association), in 2018 Italian production of woodworking machinery and tools grew 9.5%.

This after a 2017 that closed with 11.6 percent growth over 2016. These positive results were supported by government incentives to investments in production technology and Industry 4.0.

All economic variables analyzed by the Studies office of Acimall indicate that 2018 was another positive year. Production reached 2.48 billion euro (2017: EUR 2.27 billion) with an increase in exports of 6.5 percent to EUR1.69 billion.

Another sign that the Italian industry using technology for wood and wood-based materials maintains growth comes from machinery imports that grew 27.9 to EUR 239 million (2017: EUR187 million). The trade balance was therefore positive with EUR 1.45 billion up 3.8 percent compared to 2017).

Optimism seemed to fade out partially in the final quarter 2018, with figures indicating a slight slowdown in orders of Italian equipment and technology. The Italian market was still strong, scoring an excellent 17.9 percent growth over Q4 2017, but this performance was offset by foreign orders decreasing by 13.6 percent, which means that the grand total for the October-December 2018 period is minus 3.2 percent. So, while Italy still shows a plus sign, the increasing uncertainty on the international scenario (Brexit and US-China trade relations above all) seems to be suggesting more caution to international investors.

This adds to the fact that revenues in the fourth quarter 2018 were largely positive compared to the same period of 2017, with an excellent plus 19.2 percent; this figure had a significant impact on 2018 overall results.