ACIMIT Members at ITMA Asia with Their Innovative and Sustainable Products
ITMA Asia+ Citme, Asia’s foremost textile machinery trade fair, is all set kicked off in Shanghai on November 19th, and Italian technology once again was on full display, showcasing innovative, sustainable solutions.
A total of 59 Italian machinery manufacturers exhibited at the ITMA Asia+ Citme 2022, held from November 19 to 23 in Shanghai, as the event had been postponed for a year in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic. Of these 59 manufacturers, 26 presented technological innovations as part of the National Sector Groups, organized by ACIMIT and ITA – Italian Trade Agency. Occupying a surface area of around 2,000 m2, Italy is among the major foreign exhibiting Countries at the event, as has been the case for previous editions as well.
Asia is a major destination for Italy’s textile machinery manufacturers, with fully 38% of all Italian textile machinery exports during the first half of 2023 (amounting to roughly 338 million euros) directed towards Asian markets. China, in particular, is an absolutely important market for Italian companies: the first in Asia and the second worldwide behind Turkey in 2022. In the first six months of this year, Italian machinery sold in China reached a value of 81 million Euro.
“The general outlook for the Chinese market remains positive, although the demand for foreign machinery from local textile manufacturers has slowed somewhat for this first half of the year,” comments ACIMIT president Marco Salvadè. “Investments in the textile industry have never stopped, so there is no shortage of opportunities in China. I believe ITMA Asia+ Citme will confirm our expectations for a recovery in demand.”
Indeed, the demand for machinery in China is centered mainly on technologies capable of combining savings in production costs with solutions aimed at respecting the environment. “My belief is that to increase competitiveness at a global level, China’s textile manufacturers – just like those of other Countries – need to focus on the digitalization of production processes, as well as on sustainable technology solutions. In this regard, Italian technology can certainly satisfy these needs, proposing innovative processes designed to enhance sustainability and digitalization, something which visitors at the fair will be able to see for themselves,” Salvadè concludes.
ACIMIT: Drop in Orders Intake in Third Quarter 2023
The textile machinery orders index, as processed by the Economics Department of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, dropped fully 20% during the third quarter of 2023, compared to the same period for 2022. In absolute terms, the index stood at 84.2 points.
This result is due to a reduction in new orders recorded by manufacturers both on the domestic market and abroad. The decrease in orders in Italy came in at 45%, whereas the drop was just 13% on foreign markets. The absolute value of the index abroad stood at 80.5 points, and 119.4 points in Italy. During the year’s third quarter, new orders reached 3.7 months of assured production.
ACIMIT President Marco Salvadè commented on the data, stating that, “The order index for the period from July to September 2023 confirms a contraction in collected orders that was already evident in previous quarters. What worries us above all is the situation with our domestic market, where the declining trend has persisted for seven consecutive terms. Due to this situation, which does not only concern the textile machinery industry, urgent measures are needed from Italian Government to strengthen the competitiveness of Italian manufacturers.”
As far as foreign markets are concerned, the orders index confirms an overall weakened global demand for textile machinery. Indeed, for the first half of 2023, Italian exports slowed in a variety of essential benchmark markets, such as Turkey, China and the United States. “The global economic scenario remains negative, as consumers are facing a reduced purchasing power, with investments in the textile sector consequently also slowing down,” concludes Salvadè.
