The ACIMIT survey shows that the textile machinery orders index for the period of July to September 2018, remained stable. The value of index stood at 108.3 basis points (2015 basis= 100).

However, orders gathered by the Italian machinery manufacturers show contrasting trends. In Italy, the index stood at an absolute value of 121.9 basis points, i.e. a 30% increase compared to the period from July to September 2017. On the other hand, in terms of foreign markets, the index actually fell by 2%, with an absolute value of 107.4 basis points.

This data prompted ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi to comment, “In many primary foreign markets, our manufacturers have experienced a slowdown for the first nine months of the year. In China, above all, our main export destination, trade tensions with the United States have in fact halted investment plans for many textile manufacturers. Despite the uncertainty that characterizes many markets, I believe that for our industry 2018 will close at levels in line with those of the previous year.”