Slowdown in Italian textile machinery orders
Italy’s third-quarter textile machinery orders fell 7% during the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, according to the Association of Italian Textile Machine Manufacturers (ACIMIT).
ACIMIT president Raffaella Carabelli said: “The slowdown in the Chinese market is taking its toll abroad, whereas in Italy a general lack of confidence is hurting a recovery in investments.”
He added: “Exports have always been our strong suit. A decline in orders abroad affects the performance of the entire sector. What’s especially worrisome is the slowdown in technology investments in China, which represents our primary foreign market, accounting for roughly 20% of Italian exports.
“On other important foreign markets, the situation is much better, but it isn’t enough to counterbalance the drop in China. Further complicating this situation is the record high euro exchange, which penalises our exports in markets such as India, Brazil and South Africa.”
