MILAN, ITALY - A recently released survey from Acimall’s Studies Office saw stability for Italian woodworking and wood-based materials technology in Q1 2013. Acimall, an association of Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers, sees these results as positive, after significant difficulties in 2012.

According to the quarterly survey, Q1 2013 saw a 2.7% decrease of orders compared to the January-March 2012 period, resulting from a 2.8% decrease of foreign business and 2.4% reduction on the domestic market. Since the beginning of 2013, prices are up by 0.4%, with a small reduction for turnover of 0.7% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2012.

A positive production trend for the January-March period was reported by 19% of the companies interviewed for the survey, with 35% seeing stable and 46% decreasing production. Employment remained steady for 73% of the companies, with 23% seeing a decrease and 4% an increase.

The survey identified other short-term trends. A clear difference between the domestic market and export is expected to continue, with fewer operators confident in the Italian market and increasingly focusing on exports. Of the survey participants, 38% expect foreign orders to increase, 58% expect no change and 3% anticipate a decline. In regards to the domestic market, 42% foresee a decrease, while 54% expect substantial stability and only 4% believe that orders will perk up in the near future.