In a period of economic “confusion”, it was not easy to collect final figures about the trend of machinery and technology for wood and wood-based materials in 2014. Ups and downs during the year caused delays and had an impact on surveys, forcing analysts to extend the period of evaluation. But finally, the last pieces of information have been collected, all doubts removed and a full picture of the situation has been drawn, which has turned out to be better than preliminary reports had announced.

THE ITALIAN INDUSTRY OF WOODWORKING MACHINERY

AND TOOLS. 2014 FINAL FIGURES

in million euro

We can state that, in 2014, the Italian woodworking machinery and tools industry recorded an 8.6% increase from the previous year, reaching a production value of 1,669 million euro.

The year under scrutiny closed with moderate satisfaction, as results were definitely more “interesting” in the second half. An excellent trend was recorded both in Italy and in several international markets, with few exceptions due to the significant shrinkage of important destination markets for “made in Italy” (and not only) like Russia and Brazil.

It is hardly necessary to stress that, once again, Italian wood technology is strongly oriented to export, with a 75 percent share of sales across the borders on total production, with many companies well beyond 90 percent. Italy shipped technology for a total value of 1,255 million euro all over the world, further growing by 2.7 percent compared to 2013.

Conversely, the Studies Office of Acimall – the Confindustria member association that represents the industry – indicates that the domestic market is “attracted” by the rich and leading-edge technology offered by Italian manufacturers; as a result, import from abroad dropped by 13.3 percent versus 2013, amounting to 124 million euro. We remind you that import in 2013 had recorded a positive trend, which was not repeated last year: a small benefit for Italian production.

Apparent consumption in 2014 topped 500 million euro, with a 9.1 increase over the previous year.

Industry dimensions are currently estimated at 270 significant enterprises with approximately 9 thousand employees. The market has three major industrial districts in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna.

INDUSTRY REPORT

As mentioned, the final analysis of 2014 figures allowed to complete the annual report that the Acimall Studies Office publishes every year, illustrating the figures for the previous twelve months.

Published online a few weeks ago (http://www.acimall.com/upload/blocchi/X128allegato1-1X_rapporto_annuale_2014.pdf) and available in print as of September, the Annual Report 2014 provides all the national and international stakeholders fo the Italian woodworking machinery industry with a lean and detailed source to illustrate the situation of the industry.

After a quick review of the main macroeconomic variables and the events that characterized the year 2014 in Italy and in the world’s major economic regions, the report focuses on the Italian woodworking machinery industry, illustrating the trends of foreign trade based on the import-export data published by Istat, which production figures for foreign countries, as well as other indexes, are processed by the Studies Office of the association.

Also in 2014, a significant portion of the Annual Report is dedicated to the global trade of the top six exporting countries for woodworking machinery (Italy, Germany, China, Taiwan, Austria and the United States).