Orders for Italian textile machines jumped by 66% in the first three months of 2021, but rising prices for fibres and other raw materials are now having a negative impact on investment decisions.

According to ACIMIT – the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers – export orders for machinery climbed 68% between January and March, while orders from Italy’s domestic market were up 54%.

“This significant increase in orders compares favourably with first quarter 2020 results, when the pandemic began and production almost completely stopped,” said ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi. “These numbers are certainly encouraging even though the pandemic is still not under control – especially in countries that are essential markets for our industry, such as India. Investments in the textile sector have as a result seen a rather patchy recovery. Without a widespread vaccination plan on a global scale, our companies remain limited in their movements, jeopardizing the possibility of seizing business opportunities in different markets.

“A future recovery is also threatened by rising prices for raw materials,” Zucchi added. “A significant growth trend is currently underway, which began last summer and has continued to swell. These price hikes are pushing up input costs, and in the absence of a price adjustments, the negative impacts for machinery manufacturers could be quite significant.”

www.acimit.it