Markets Italian machine tool orders rising in 2017

According to the Italian association for machine tools, robots and automation manufacturers, Ucimu, the increase in machine tool orders in the first quarter of 2017 is a result of government implementations. The national Plan Industry 4.0 is stated as the main influence on the numbers.

The National Plan Industry 4.0 implemented by the Government has already given good results. This is highlighted by the quarterly data report by Ucimu concerning the collection of machine tool orders: in the first quarter of 2017 it registered a 5.1% increase compared with the same period of the previous year. The absolute value of the index amounted to 187.7, considerably over the average 100 established in 2010.

In particular, the overall outcome of the index, processed by the Studies Deptartment of Ucimu – Sistemi per produrre, was due to the excellent performances of the orders collected in the domestic market, grown by 22.2% versus the period January-March 2016. The absolute value of the index was 236.3.

Abroad the index remained stationary, recording a 0.3% rise. The absolute index was 168.1.

After the decrease experienced in the last quarter of 2016, owing to the waiting effect for the National Plan Industry 4.0 announced by the Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, the Italian demand for manufacturing systems starts to move again and in a significant way, as a testimony to the positive situation of the domestic market that today can also benefit from important tax incentives, such as Super- Depreciation and Hyper-Depreciation.

Massimo Carboniero, President of Ucimu – Sistemi per produrre, asserted: "The choice of the Government authorities of giving our country a solid industrial policy, aiming at fostering the enterprises' technological and organisational development, has surely been forward-looking, not only with regard to the provisions included in the Plan, but also considering the current economic situation.

Market Analysis

Italy: Positive trend for the manufacturing industry

"Actually, after years of difficulty, since 2014 the Italian market had started to invest again in production systems. The factors that made the temporal context 'perfectly suitable' for applying the Plan are the recovery of demand and the concomitant data about the ageing of manufacturing plants, whose average age turned out to be 13 years.

According to Massimo Carboniero, the order index of the first quarter of 2017, regarding the domestic market is an evidence that the programme implemented by the Government authorities is giving good results: "The propensity of the Italian manufacturing industry to invest in industrial technology and connectivity systems needed a boost which has been ensured by the National Plan Industry 4.0."

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