Global Manufacturing Slowdown hits Italian Industry in 2019, downward trend expected to continue

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MassimoCarboniero
MassimoCarboniero

The Italian Machine Tool, Robot, and Automation industry have begun expanding in 2014, but since 2019, it has begun a downward trend. The expectation is that this trend will continue in 2020. This moderate decrease is proof that the values of the vital economic indicators are reverting to the normal numbers post the exploit endorsed by Industry or Enterprise 4.0. Massimo Carboniero, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, which is this industry’s manufacturers’ association, divulged this fact during the press conference at the end of 2019.

The production in 2019 was 6,440 million euros, which is a 4.9 percent fall from 2018. This impact is because the exports fell by 2.3 percent to 3,580 million euros and the domestic market suffered 8.1 percent to 2,860 million euros. The ‘Made in Italy’ products in the initial eight months of 2019 had the following markets: 120 million euros in Poland, 158 million euros in France, 205 million euros in China, 236 million euros in Germany, 257 million euros in the United States. Domestically, the market was of 4,790 million euros marking a decrease of 7.2 percent. However, the export/production ratio in 2018 was 54.1 percent, and this raised to 55.6 percent in 2019.

The forecast for 2020 is that a slowdown is imminent, but the statistics will be identical to 2017. Production may reach 5,900 million euros and exports to 3,390 million euros. The demand of Italian users will touch 4,305 million euros. This change in the domestic market will result in Italian deliveries dropping to 2,510 million euros. Imports will be restricted to 1,795 million euros.

Massimo commented, “The international scenario has affected the Italian Machine Tool, Robot, and Automation industry. This is the first downward journey after five years of perpetual growth. However, the fall in 2019 and that predicted for 2020 are both moderate. Because the predictions for 2020 are at par with 2017, the Italian industry will slowly return to normal statistics. The normal figures were in 2016, which was prior to the explosive effect of Industry or Enterprise 4.0 brought by the Government. The 2020 forecast seems likely because the 32.BI-MU, the biennial machine tool exhibition at fieramilano Rho in October 2020, has received applications in which the surface area booked by the exhibitors is identical to 2018.”

Massimo continued, “The Italian Manufacturing industry is renewing and transforming production plants from a digital viewpoint. We are focusing to continue on this course to make our manufacturing competitive with foreign markets. The Government is taking apt steps in this direction. The Government’s three tax credits, namely, for Research & Development activities, the Super-depreciation replacement, and a Hyper-depreciation replacement, are evidence to support this point.”

Massimo also said, “The anxiety is that the Super-depreciation and the Hyper-depreciation coupled with the Budget Law 2020 measures might confuse companies that are comfortable with the previous competitive measures. So, the Government must carefully campaign communication and information from the initial part of 2020 for enterprises to leverage these. UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE plans training and education endeavors similar to the past for all enterprises and proposes first-level consultations for associate member companies.”

Additionally, we expect that these measures become structural and endure for many years as per the draft budgetary plan. The transformation of these measures into a structural, multilayer plan is a correct response to the need of SMEs for a clarified picture of medium or long-term measures at their disposal. We emphasize that the tax credit for the expenses of professional education and training must be reviewed to include the expenses of teachers and trainers.

“The foreign scenario is complex due to general economic and political instability. We stress on the internationalization of SMEs, particularly in the far-away nations. We must encourage the contact of Italian SMEs with qualified foreign operators from nations with extremely promising development prospects. For this, the ICE-Italian Trade Agency’s project of foreign buyers must have apt resources.

Massimo concluded, “The Government must plan a special endeavor to endorse generation of enterprise networks for the study and analysis of particular sectors of destination. This is cumbersome for an SME. In this regard, an enterprise network is a definite answer to such a requirement.”

For more details, visit www.ucimu.it

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