The Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry suffered a turnover drop of three percentage points in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to a forecast by Italian trade association Amaplast.
The downturn follows record years in 2023 and 2022.
The forecast is based on a survey of 160 Amaplast member companies, which reported a turnover drop of slightly less than two percentage points during the January-December 2024 period.
Amaplast also reported a slight increase of 1% in the number of employees of its member companies, which it takes to signify the industry’s ‘ongoing commitment to renewing and strengthening its structure to cope with the increasingly complex challenges in a rapidly evolving global context’.
Structural changes included the development of cutting-edge technologies using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the offering of services alongside machinery products.
Exports
Strong exports ameliorated the balance sheets of Italian plastic machinery manufacturers.
Machinery exports increased for the fourth consecutive year by 1.5%, reaching a total value of €3.62 billion. Imports, on the other hand, saw a nearly seven-point percentage point decline, barely exceeding €1 billion.
A surge in foreign sales registered during the final quarter of the year, particularly in December, prompted an upward revision of previous estimates, which had been based on trends observed up until September.
“The solid performance of exports, which account for approximately three-quarters of total production, helps to offset a domestic market that is clearly struggling,” Amaplast said in a statement announcing the figures.
Whilst exports to the European Union and North America continued to drop, exports to Asia, South America, and Africa showed strong gains.
In particular, exports to the EU decreased by 4.7% in 2024, nonetheless still representing over half of exports at 52.2%. Exports to North America decreased by 2.3%. Exports to Asia/Oceania increased by 10.2%, to Central and South America by 4.5%, and to Africa by 20%.
Breakdown by country
Exports to Germany – historically the main trade partner of Italian manufacturers – declined by 1.6%. Amaplast considered the decline a ‘relatively modest drop considering the severe economic and industrial crisis the country has been facing’, including a 30% collapse in domestic plastic machinery sales in 2024.
Other major European markets that had performed well in recent years, such as Spain and Romania, experienced a slowdown (-6% and -20%, respectively), while Poland registered a further decline (-19%). Conversely, demand from Turkey continued to grow (15%), despite the ongoing expansion of its domestic manufacturing industry. Exports to France increased by 13.2%.
Compared to 2023, Italian exports of plastics and rubber machinery to the United Stated, the sector’s second-largest destination, fell by 4%. Amaplast said it will take several months to fully assess the impact of tariffs and other protectionist measures administrated by the Trump administration in 2025.
Mexico recorded further growth of 3.4%, adding to the far more significant expansion seen in previous years.
Italy’s exports to Brazil increased by 86% compared to 2023, representing a gain of over €120 million – an all-time record driven by strong demand for high-tech machinery.
In Asia, Italy’s two main markets delivered highly satisfactory results, as exports to China and India increased by 14.7% and 14.8% %, respectively, compared to 2023.
Blow moulding up, injection moulding and extrusion down
There was a 7% decline in exported injection and extrusion machinery, counterbalanced by the remarkable performance of blow moulding machines, increasingly demanded by and delivered to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and Poland.
Positive trends were also observed for flexographic printing machines, which grew by 5% and account for 5% of total exports, and presses, which also hold a 5% market share and recorded an impressive 59% rise. On the contrary, moulds, which represent a fifth of total export value, ended the year with a 5% decline.
Better times ahead?
Amaplast said Italian manufacturers have felt some encouraging signs, including from the domestic market, in the early weeks of the year, despite raising global tensions. Nonetheless, neither a turnaround nor a pronounced stabilisation are likely until the second half of the year, the association added.
Source: sustainableplastics.com
