According to the quarterly survey by the Studies office of Acimall, the Confindustria member association, the figures for July-September 2020 clearly reflect what's happening in this key segment of the Italian mechanical engineering industry. In general, the orders of machinery and tools for wood and furniture are recording a decreasing trend below expectations, which indicates a partial improvement of the economic situation compared to the previous quarters, strongly impacted by the lockdown.
Wood-furniture technology recorded a decrease of orders by 10.1% compared to the same quarter of 2019, in line with the trend of the entire machine tools industry. Orders on the domestic market decreased by 32.3%, as opposed to a better trend of international demand, which decreased by 1% only. This general trend is mitigated by the fact that orders increased by more than 40% compared to the terrible period of April-June 2020.
The orders book is equal to 3.1 months (versus 2.4 in the previous quarter), with a price increase by 0.6% since the beginning of 2020. The decrease in revenues, compared to the same quarter of 2019, amounted to 9.5%, another "reassuring" figure if compared to minus 29.8% in the previous quarter.
According to the quality survey, 47% of the interviewed companies indicate a positive production trend, 18% decreasing and 35% stable. Employment will be stationary according to 65% of the sample, while 29% expects a reduction and only 6% believes it can increase.
Available stocks are stable according to 65% of the interviewees, increasing for 6% and decreasing for 29%.
