Assocomaplast data
The Italian plastics industry could be on the brink of recovery after an encouraging first quarter of 2014 for equipment manufacturers was reported, with rising export data providing the foundation for a much-needed confidence boost for the marketplace.
According to Assocomaplast, the Italian trade association owned by CONFINDUSTRIA, a group of some 160 equipment manufacturers, figures for Italian foreign trade in the January-March period are up by some nine percentage points year-on-year, with blow moulding machines and extruders proving to be the most significant categories for growth.
Moreover, there was double-digit growth in sales in key countries including China, while the Czech Republic, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and the US were also responsible for a rise in custom.
However, exports to Brazil slipped, while fellow BRICS nation India also recorded a below average sales rise of four per cent. Furthermore, imports remained weak, although to a lesser extent than in previous months reflecting the still struggling Italian domestic market.
Nevertheless, this is the third month in a row of rising exports for Italy's equipment manufacturers, indicating a recovery - or at least a reversal of the long-term downward trend - could be in sight, with exports accounting for more than 65 per cent of the Italian marketplace's revenue.
