Woodworking machinery industry: First signs of recovery on the Italian market

Despite complex implementation procedures, the incentives for Industry 5.0 initiatives are starting to take effect in the woodworking machinery and technology industry, especially for large plants. This conclusion emerges from data for the third quarter of 2024 analyzed by the Research Office of Acimall, the Italian machinery manufacturers' association, member Confindustria.

After more than two years of falling orders, the Italian market is showing the first signs of recovery. It is hoped that this trend will extend to exports, bringing total orders back into positive territory.

Key figures for Q3 2024:

• Overall decrease in orders by 9,4% compared to the same period in 2023
• Significant increase in domestic demand by 16,1%
• External orders down by 12,4%
• Order fulfillment period: 3 months (compared to 2.9 months in Q2 2024)
• Prices up 1.6% since the start of the year

Market outlook

The qualitative survey shows a clear division of opinion in the industry: 50% of the companies surveyed expect stable production, while the remaining 50% anticipate further cuts. No respondent expects growth in the coming period.

On the labor force side, 75% of companies expect stable hiring, 20% fear cutbacks, and only 5% see the possibility of increases. For available inventories, 65% report stability, 25% report increases, and 10% report reductions.

Forecasts for the domestic market show that 55% of respondents anticipate stability (up from 50% in the previous quarter), 5% see growth, and 40% fear further cuts. For the external market, 65% expect stability (down from 50% in the previous quarter), 35% expect the situation to worsen, and no one anticipates further improvement, down from 15% in the previous quarter.