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Product category: Manufacturing industry news
News Release from: UCIMU
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 19 December 2003

UCIMU reports "hesitant signs of
recovery"

The preliminary final figures for 2003 and the forecasts for 2004 for the Italian machine tools, report "hesitant signs of recovery", but the Italian domestic demand will remain flat in 2004.

The preliminary final figures for 2003 and the forecasts for 2004 for the Italian machine tools, robotics and automation industry were unveiled in Milan today According to Andrea Riello, president of UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre, "worldwide, we are beginning to see hesitant signs of recovery, but the lull on the domestic market continues." Preliminary final figures for 2003 presented this morning by UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre during its traditional year-end press conference show negative year-end results for the Italian machine tool, robotics and automation industry

Output was valued at EUR 4,050 million, down 7.5%.

The value of exports suffered a considerable decrease, (-7.2%) to EUR 1,810 million.

The Italian industry's propensity to export came to 44.7%, remaining substantially unchanged with respect to a year earlier.

The balance of trade was positive (up 27.1%), growing to EUR 745 million.

According to the foreign trade data relating to the first eight months of the year, Italian exports of machine tools showed a marked decline in sales on the European Union market (-24.6% on the same period in 2002), due to decreases in exports in some of the main buying markets: Germany (-24.8%), France (-31.3%), and Spain (-30.1%).

Exports to non-EU Europe were preceded by a negative sign (-7.2%), while Russia (+32.8%) and Turkey (+31.8%) showed better results.

Despite the recovery on the North American market (+32.7%), exports were lower by 6.6% to Latin American countries.

Sales to Asia were better, rising by 6.5%, thanks to healthy exports being made to China (+12.5%) and India (+124%).

In 2003, domestic demand slipped by 12.8% to EUR 3,305 million and was met by imports for EUR 1,065 million (-22% with respect to 2002) and Italian producers' sales on the domestic market, falling 7.7% for a value of EUR 2,240 million.

The import/consumption index also dropped from 36% to 32.2%, showing how Italian builders are successfully meeting the needs of their local and national markets, even in times of difficulty.

The preliminary final figures for 2003 in the robotics division show trends comparable to the sector on the whole: production fell by 5.7% to EUR 350 million due to declining exports (-8.7%) and reduced sales on the domestic market (-4.3%).

Also down was consumption (-4.2%) and imports (-4%).

According to the estimates made by the Studies Dept.

of UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre, output in 2004 should show gains of 0.5%, due mainly to recovery in exports (+3%), sustained by healthy sales to emerging countries and the recovery in demand on the traditional buying markets.

The value of domestic demand should fall further to EUR 3,215 million (-2.7%).

Bearing the brunt of the fresh reduction of Italian consumption will be domestic sales (-1.6%) and imports (-5.2%).

The import/consumption index should show further losses and finish up at 31.4%.

According to the forecasts for the robotics sector, production in 2004 is expected to remain unchanged (EUR 350 million) with 31.4% allocated to foreign sales (EUR 110 million, up by 4.8% on a year earlier) and the remaining 68.6% to domestic sales, dropping 2% with respect to a year earlier.

According to Riello, "the preliminary final figures for 2003 were influenced by the negative trends in the world economy, which have caused declines in domestic and international demand." "While the climate of uncertainty makes it even more difficult to make forecasts - continues Riello - we can still assume that the hesitant signs of recovery from the world economies, in particular the United States and Japan, could crystallize during the second part of 2004, driving a recovery on some of Italy's traditional buying markets with the resulting positive effects on our exports.

The domestic market is another story, however; here we predict a continuation of the current slump." "What we need is a country system that can foster renewed investments in instrumental assets, an indispensable measure for driving the recovery of domestic industry, argues Riello.

"On the foreign front, however, - continues Riello - Italian builders must be supported in their efforts to penetrate the areas identified as having a higher rate of development.

Up until a few years ago, a few business offices were enough to keep business going strong; today you have to decentralize production in order to meet the customers' needs.

To encourage the process of internationalisation of our companies, we have to streamline administrative and bureaucratic procedures and work toward more effective promotion of Italian made products abroad, while also protecting our products from imitation.".

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