Italian polymer processing machinery industry reports 9% fall

Assago, Italy – Italian plastics and rubber machinery industry is expected to a see 9% year-on-year decline in revenue in 2024, according to the latest data by trade association Amaplast.

Sales value of the machinery is estimated to come in at €4.35 billion, down from the record high of €4.80 billion reported in 2023, said Amaplast 8 Jan.

The association linked the “momentary setback” mainly to a 9.4% drop in exports value, from €3.59 billion in 2023 to €3.25 billion last year.

Imports registered a larger decline of 15% year-on-year, reflecting the “truly weak domestic demand,” said Amaplast.

The weak trend was partially attributed to the post-pandemic recovery during 2021-2023 and tax incentives offered during those years.

Furthermore, the introduction of sustainability linked ‘transition 5.0’ measures by the Italian government has put a pause in investments by local processors.

Declining demand in the automotive industry, particularly Germany, as well as international economic and geopolitical uncertainties further impacted investment by Italian rubber & plastics processing industry.

Citing government statistics, Amaplast said exports of polymer processing machinery during the first nine months of 2024 show that Europe remains the prime sales area for Italian manufacturers.

However, sales to the region fell 5% year-on-year, with important markets such as Spain and Poland seeing strong declines.

Exports to German convertors remained steady overall, Amaplast added.

Sales to the CIS countries saw even a bigger decrease, nearly halved due in large to a collapse in sales to Russia.

Amaplast noted that Chinese competitors were winning “a greater share” of the CIS market, as European sanctions on Russia continued.

Exports for the nine-month period increased to various non-EU destinations, most notably to Turkey and the UK.

The average trend in exports to the Americas was mixed, with sales to Mexico ‘going well’ amid a slowdown in exports to the US.

In South America, Brazil’s strong demand did not offset a drop in sales to historical partners such as Argentina, Peru, and Chile.

The Asian markets, meanwhile, displayed “a clearly positive trend”, especially the Far East, with a ‘noteworthy acceleration in sales to China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia.”

In the Middle East, the UAE and Israel boosted sales, while demand declined in Saudi Arabia.

Africa also offered a mixed picture with a strong increase in flows to the sub-Saharan region.

Here Amaplast said sales had “more than doubled” to South Africa and peaks are witnessed in Cameroon, Angola, and Tanzania.

In the Mediterranean countries, however, the performance has reversed with the exception of a positive trend in Morocco.

For 2025, Amaplast president Massimo Margaglione could not offer a “precise outlook until after the first few months” as global scenarios and changing markets added to uncertainties.

As things stand, Margaglione said the industry expected a "modest rebound, with a return to positive growth in the principal indicators for the industry of the order of one or two percentage points."