The second quarter of 2023 also reveals signs of a slowdown for Italian woodworking and furniture technology: this is what emerges from the quarterly survey conducted by the Acimall Studies Office, the association that brings together Italian woodworking and furniture technology manufacturers.

In the April-June period of this year, in fact, orders recorded a 17.8 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2022: both the minus 18.7 per cent recorded on orders coming in from outside Italy and the minus 13.8 per cent of demand from the domestic market contributed to this result. The result confirms the figures recorded in the previous four quarters, all of which were negative, and brings the overall industry index back to 2019 levels. We can define this as a 'return to normality' after the slowdown caused by the pandemic and the subsequent recovery, which guaranteed companies exceptional results, unprecedented in recent decades.

Substantial stability of production is expected

The woodworking and furniture technology sector can count on an order backlog with 5.2 months of assured production (the same figure as in the previous quarter), while the price change since the beginning of the year, at 1.2 per cent, represents a cooling of the inflation that has characterised the sector and the economy in general over the last two years.

The qualitative survey reveals that 72 per cent of the sample of companies surveyed expect substantial stability in production (it was 71 per cent in the previous quarter), while 9 per cent expect a further decrease and 19 per cent expect growth (balance plus 10).

Employment is increasing for 14 per cent of the sample, stable for 81 per cent and decreasing for 5 per cent. Stocks are stable for 34 per cent of the respondents, increasing for 33 per cent and decreasing for the other 33 per cent.

Forward-looking survey: a less positive climate

However, the forward-looking survey reveals a less positive mood than in the previous quarter: with regard to the foreign market, the sample expects a stable trend for 33 per cent (was 38 per cent in the previous quarter); a decrease for 48 per cent (was 38 per cent in January-March) and an increase for the remaining 19 per cent (was 24 per cent). With regard to the Italian market, the trend is expected to be stable for 48 per cent of respondents (57 per cent in Q1 2023), decreasing for 38 per cent (was 24 per cent) and increasing for 14 per cent (was 19 per cent last quarter).

New Industry 5.0 Transition Plan expected

"A long-awaited scenario," commented Acimall director Dario Corbetta, "which could experience a significant change of course thanks to the new Industry 5.0 Transition Plan, which is highly anticipated not only by the woodworking and furniture technology industry, but by all sectors of mechanics and beyond. The scope of the measure could lead to a recovery of the Italian market already in the coming months or at least from the beginning of 2024'.

Certainly, the new Industry 5.0 Transition Plan would open up new and broader possibilities for action in two directions: towards further progress on the road to digitalisation and towards an even more decisive and concrete 'green' turn in industrial processes.

In the photo, a detail of the new stefani cell E edgebanding and squaring cell - Scm Group