Italian machinery makers eye record numbers for 2023

The Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry is on track to deliver record sales of $5.2 billion (€4.8 billion) in 2023, according to trade association Amaplast.

Citing preliminary estimates by the Amaplast-MECS Statistical Study Center, Amaplast said sales will be up by more than 3 percent compared with the approximate $5 billion reported the previous year

The gains are mainly due to a positive trend in exports, which said the trade association had "improved progressively" over the first nine months of this year.

At an estimated $3.6 billion, and accounting for more than 70 percent of production, exports are estimated to come in 5 percent higher than the year before, with a modest rise in imports also forecast.

The robust growth in exports was characterized by "a positive trend" in all main machinery types for primary processing, noted Amaplast.

This, it said, included molds with a 24 percent market-share and 14 percent year-on-year growth for the nine months to Sept. 30.

Next came extruders with a 12 percent share and 22-percent growth, injection molding machines with a 5 percent share and 2 percent growth and blow molding machines with a 4 percent share and 17 percent growth.

Over the first three quarter of 2023, Europe confirmed its status as primary destination for Italian polymer processing machinery, with an overall share of 56 percent.

Demand from Germany, France and Spain respectively grew 7 percent, 23 percent and 19 percent year-on-year, while two new countries of Romania (71 percent) and Czech Republic (38 percent) entered the top 10 list of importers.

Interestingly, Amaplast noted "a robust increase" in deliveries to Russia, with a 61 percent growth in demand over the first nine months — despite "all the well-known issues associated with this country."

Exports to the Americas grew 24 percent year-on-year, helped by a new surge in North American markets, Mexico in particular.

Demand also remained strong in several South American markets, with Brazil, Argentina, and Peru leading the table.

The Middle East also showed positive trends, driven principally by Saudi Arabia with 107 percent year-on-year growth.

Exports to Asia, on the other hand, saw a "sudden deceleration" with an overall drop of 12 percent, due essentially to contraction in China at 15 percent and India at 6 percent.

Other predominant destinations such as Korea, Japan and Taiwan also reported losses of 61 percent, 47 percent and 68 percent, respectively.

Strong growth in Thailand (140 percent) and Indonesia (81 percent), Amaplast noted, was not sufficient to offset the general slump in the Far East market.

Africa also showed an "excellent performance" in the January-September period, now having nearly a 6-percent share of the total market.