According to the quarterly survey carried out by the Acimall Studies Office, the association that brings together manufacturers in the sector, the first quarter of 2023 confirms the slowdown in orders for Italian woodworking and furniture industry technologies.
 

This in turn signals a negative change for the fourth consecutive quarter, although it should be read in light of the exceptional results achieved in the second half of 2020 and throughout 2021, which have not been recorded in decades. This downturn, which started in the second quarter of 2021, but increased in the period from January to March 2023, is beginning to raise some concerns.

 

A 25.7 per cent drop in orders

Let us look at the data in more detail. In the first quarter of this year, orders for woodworking technology and the furniture industry fell by 25.7 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year, a figure that was affected by both the decline in demand from foreign markets (minus 20.6 per cent) and the significant drop in the domestic market (minus 38.9 per cent).

However, it must be remembered that the January-March 2022 quarter was still in an expansionary phase, with significant growth rates in both the Italian and foreign markets, thanks to the public incentives adopted in many countries to support the various post-pandemic industries.

The decline in orders is consequently reflected in the months of assured production, which on average fall from 6.1 months in the October-December 2022 quarter to 5.2 months in January-March 2023.

Inflation, which in 2022 was in line with that of the economy as a whole, seems to have come to a halt in the first months of this year: the increase in the selling prices of technologies for wood and industry of furniture stands at a share of plus 0.6 per cent.
 

Substantial stability

According to the qualitative survey for the first quarter of 2023, the sample of companies surveyed sees a substantial stability in production (71 per cent); 24 per cent see an upward trend, 5 per cent a downward one.

As far as employment is concerned, it is increasing according to 14 per cent of the sample, stable for 81 per cent, and decreasing for 5 per cent. Stocks are stable for 62 per cent of the respondents, while the remaining 38 per cent are equally divided between those who see an increase (19 per cent) and those who see a decrease (19 per cent).

Short-term forecasts

The forward-looking survey provides a glimpse of the scenarios that are likely to unfold in the short term: the sample is divided into 38 per cent who are inclined towards substantial stability in orders from the foreign market and 38 per cent who anticipate a contraction, while 24 per cent believe in further growth. On the domestic market 57 per cent of the respondents expect substantial stability, 19 per cent an increase in orders and 24 per cent a contraction.

In the photo above, detail of SCM's morbidilli cx110 drilling machine