Glass processing technologies enjoyed a positive 2019; especially brilliant for hollow glass. Expectations ran high for 2020 and then, the COVID-19 pandemic re-wrote the script. For now, reliable forecasting is impossible.

INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE IN 2019

Waiting for more details to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the industrial economy, based on the analysis of the Acimall Studies office we can illustrate the trend of wood and furniture technology in 2019. Unfortunately, those twelve months were characterized by hardly encouraging signals for the health of our industry, a suffering condition that can only get worse after the dramatic events of the first months of 2020.

The orders index for textile machinery drawn up by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period from October to December 2019, showed an 8% drop compared to the same period for 2018. The index value stood at 92.9 points (basis: 2015=100).

Even in the last quarter 2019, the collection of machine tool orders highlighted a negative sign. In particular, in the fourth quarter 2019, the UCIMU index of machine tool orders registered a 16% downturn compared with the same period of the previous year. The absolute value of the index was 105.5 (base 100 in 2015). The overall outcome was affected both by the negative performance of the domestic market and by the weakness of foreign demand.
 

Cinisello Balsamo 17 December 2019. The year 2019 marked the end of the positive trend, started in 2014 by the Italian machine tool, robot and automation industry. Nevertheless, the registered decrease is very moderate and shows how the values of the main economic indicators are returning to normal levels, after the exploit supported by the measures of Industry/Enterprise 4.0.

New orders for Italian machinery manufacturers were negative both in foreign markets and in Italy. Abroad, an 8% decrease was recorded, with an absolute index value of 98.9 points. The drop in domestic orders was even more pronounced, at -22% compared to the third quarter 2018. The absolute value of the index was 94.9 points.

Vitrum 2019 makes headway in its strategy of international recognition as an exceptional exhibition platform dedicated to the world of glass processing. The numbers speak for themselves: 267 Exhibitors from 25 different countries, up 9% compared to Vitrum 2017. Net occupied surface area of 16,134m² for a significant (10.81%) increase over the 14,569m² at the previous edition.

Once again, the mid-year figures show a drop in Italy’s imports and exports of plastic and rubber machinery, though the reduction is less marked than for previous months.