The Italian trade association for plastic and rubber processing equipment makers, Assocomaplast, has announced that exports are up by almost 9 percentage points compared to the January-March period of 2013.
The association states that extruders and blow molding machines, two of the most significant categories, showed especially strong growth.
Extruder exports rose from 62.4 million euros ($84.4 million) in 2013 to 82.8 million euros ($112 million) in January-March of 2014, while blow molding machinery exports rose from 27.6 million euros ($37.3 million) to 36.2 million euros ($48.9 million).
Assocomaplast notes that helping this general rise in exports was the double-digit growth in sales to some key countries, particularly China, with other positive changes seen for sales of Italian technology to destinations such as the Czech Republic, Mexico, the United States, Russia, and Turkey.
On the downside, the association reports that Imports continued to be weak, though not as much as previous months reflecting, it says, a domestic Italian market that still hasn't found its feet.