The latest statistical surveys by Acimall, the association of Italian manufacturers of wood and wood-based panel technologies, reveal numerous issues: from the need to increase company sales to the impact of the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, which are affecting the entire global economy; from concerns about the tariffs introduced by the United States to the task of maintaining an optimal balance between increasingly important domestic demand and export flows. In Italy, as in Germany, it is similar questions and hardships that concern manufacturers on a daily basis.

These are the final results from 2024

The figures for the past year have confirmed the forecasts of the association’s study office and verified the preliminary figures. Italian production of woodworking machinery, tools and accessories amounted to €2.42 billion, 8.7% less than in 2023. Exports were down (€1.69 billion, -8.1% compared to the previous year) and the domestic market, which remained 9.9% below the 2023 level at €725 million.

There was a significant decline in imports (€228 million, -25.2%), a development that caused the trade balance to fall to minus 4.9% compared to 2023 (€1.46 billion). Domestic demand stagnated at €953 million, a decrease of 13.8% compared to the 2023 results – but still showing that the Italian market remains a global leader.

Against this backdrop, Acimall reiterates the statement made by its director Dario Corbetta when the preliminary figures were published. He described last year and the decline beyond as a “time lapse” in an industry that has long known only growth. The causes are well known and shared by most companies in the Italian and global economy: First came the pandemic and then incentives and government aid.

Both have led to structural problems in the industry being postponed. “…from the persistent labor shortage, which forces companies to use new tools to tackle the major problem of training, to the attractiveness of jobs for new entrants, from the delays in generational change to the numerous challenges facing the mechanical industry,” is how Corbetta describes it.

The final balance of 2024 was strongly influenced by the last quarter: Acimall’s quarterly survey for October to December 2024 recorded a 5.2 percent decline in orders (-6.5% abroad; +7.1% in Italy) compared to the same quarter in 2023. The order backlog was 3.6 months – with an upward trend – and prices have risen by 2 percent since the beginning of 2024. The quality survey revealed that the participating companies expect production (55%), employment (70%) and available stocks (50%) to remain stable.

However, stability is not the trend that was expected at the beginning of this year. 50% of the companies surveyed expect a further decline in the domestic market, 45% expect stable development and 5% expect an increase. Looking abroad, the proportion of those expecting stability rises again to 50%, while the remaining 50% fear a decline in demand.

Italy, Germany and China in 2024

The Acimall study office has also compiled a range of information on Italy’s position in global trade and compared it with its two main competitors on the world market, Germany and China(tools are not included).

Italy closed 2024 with an export value of €1.55 billion, a decrease of 8% compared to €1.68 billion in 2023. The most important destinations were the United States (€177.2 million, -4.3%), France (€175.7 million, +19%) and Germany (€121.5 million, -2.4%). Other destinations in the export top ten: Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, China, Sweden, Turkey and Belgium.
Sales to the two competitor countries surveyed were essentially stable (-2.4% in Germany, +2% in China). Of particular note is the significant increase in France, which confirmed its role as the second largest target market, and the disappointing 30% decline in the United Kingdom.

Imports of wood and furniture technology amounted to 228.1 million euros in 2024, a significant decline compared to 304.7 million euros in 2023 (-25.1%). Germany remains Italy’s number one “supplier country” with 83.7 million euros, despite a sharp decline compared to 157.4 million euros in 2023 (-46.8%). China is in second place with 40.2 million euros, an increase of 36.3% compared to 2023. Spain ranked third with EUR 14.2 million, representing a percentage growth of 41% compared to the previous year’s result of EUR 10.1 million. Austria dropped to fourth place, recording a massive 45.6% drop in sales to Italy, from €23.3 million in 2023 to €12.5 million in 2024. A similar development – a drop of 44.7% – was seen in India with €10.4 million compared to €18.9 million in 2023. The list continues with Switzerland and France, followed by Finland with an astonishing growth from €315,000 in 2023 to €4.7 million in 2024 and then the United Kingdom and the United States.

How does this compare directly with Italy’s competitor Germany? The historical leader in international trade exported 2.48 billion euros worth of tools in the sector, also excluding tools statistically. This results in a percentage decline of 11.6% compared to 2.813 billion euros in 2023.

According to Acimall, Italy is still doing quite well with an export decline of 8.1% compared to the “German” 11.6%. The ten most important target countries for Germany are also the United States (€362.9 million, +1.5%), followed by China (€213.2 million, -18%) and France (€168 million, -14.3%). The ranking is continued by Austria, Poland, Canada, the United Kingdom, Egypt, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Egypt recorded a percentage increase from € 9.7 million in 2023 to over € 87 million in 2024 (+796.3%).

China also took first place in the top ten ranking for imports to Germany last year, with an almost identical value to the previous year: €178.1 million compared to €177.8 million in 2023. In second place, Italy maintained the same position as in 2023, but fell from €110.2 million to €84.2 million in 2024 (-23.6%). German purchases in Poland fell by 3.7% (€79.5 million compared to €82.6 million). This was followed in descending order by Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovenia, Sweden, France and Luxembourg.

China in the lead

China overtook Germany again and was the absolute leader in trade flows in 2024 with exports (excluding tools) totaling €2.520 billion, 9.3% more than in 2023 (€2.306 billion). This indicates a fundamental change in the wood and furniture machinery industry in China: Not only do the machines meet the quantitative and qualitative requirements of the Chinese market, they are also becoming increasingly attractive for foreign markets. And not just in terms of the final price, but also in terms of the quality standards of the machines. They are increasingly approaching the standards of long-established suppliers.

According to Acimall, it is hardly surprising that the biggest fan of Chinese technology is Vietnam, which increased its purchases from its neighboring country by 27.5% from €280.3 million in 2023 to €357.3 million last year. In second place is the United States (€348 million, +2.1%) and in third place Russia (€224.3 million, +2%), followed by Germany, India, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico.

Overall, imports to China fell by 18.5% to 189.1 million euros compared to 231.9 million euros in 2023. The gold medal goes to the leading supplier country Germany, although it lost 22.9% in terms of value, from 128.9 million euros in 2023 to 99.4 million euros last year. Italy remained in second place with 29.6 million euros (-0.4%), overtaking Taiwan, which swapped places. Taiwan delivered 14.5 million euros worth of machines to China in 2024, 4% less than in 2023.

It is followed by Japan with a 29.1% increase in machine sales to China, Denmark, South Korea, the United States, Austria and the Netherlands, which catapulted into the top ten with a jump in turnover from EUR 329,000 in 2023 to EUR 2.7 million in 2024 (+748%!). At the bottom of the top ten supplier countries after China is Singapore.

“The figures compiled by our study office illustrate the situation that Italian companies have to deal with on a daily basis,” says Corbetta. “Despite the storms of recent years, the highly developed and established markets retain their role and continue to be a reference for all manufacturers. Chinese exports have regained first place on the world markets. An expected result. Nevertheless, it should encourage us to forget clichés and work harder to maintain a technological edge. This is the only way for companies to maintain their leading role in the global market in terms of quality, reliability and, above all, service and after-sales partnership.”