2026 opens with a widespread climate of trust among Piedmontese businesses, but with different paces between territories and sectors. Turin is leading the way, which shows more robust indicators than the regional average, especially in terms of production, orders and employment. However, there remains a unresolved issue: exports, which continue to suffer from international uncertainty.
This is what emerges from the ieconomic survey carried out in December by the Study Centre of theTurin Industrial Union on approximately 1.200 manufacturing and service companies in the Piedmontese industrial system.
Widespread confidence in Piedmont, but at two speeds
In the regional complex the companies face the first quarter of 2026 with positive expectations on employment and production, while domestic orders are also improving. The picture remains fragile on the profitability front and, above all, exports, which continue to record negative balances.
The aggregate data, however, hides a structural fracture which has been going on for over two years with, on the one hand, the manufacturing sector, still struggling, and on the other, the tertiary sector, which continues to expand thanks to less exposure to tensions in foreign markets.
Turin above average: production and orders accelerate
In the Piedmontese capital the climate of confidence is more solid than the rest of the regionExpectations for the first quarter of 2026 indicate significant growth in production, strengthening orders, and improving employment. Unlike the regional data, in Turin, the figures also return to positive territory. manufacturing sector expectations, with a production balance that returns to positive territory after difficult months. It also improves the propensity to invest, with nearly a quarter of companies planning significant expenditure on new plants.
However, the Achilles' heel of exportsEven in the capital, foreign sales expectations remain negative, confirming a trend that has lasted over ten quarters.
Investments on the rise, CIG under control
The most encouraging signal comes from willingness to investIn Piedmont, more than three out of four companies have declared spending plans, with an increase in the share allocated to new facilities. In Turin, the trend is similar, with an increase in the propensity to invest despite a still unstable environment.
Il recourse to redundancy payments remains limited and concentrated above all in manufacturing, while the capacity utilization rate remains at levels consistent with the historical average, a sign of production capacity still well employed.
Manufacturing in trouble, services booming
Il Piedmontese manufacturing The economy continues to show signs of weakness. Production, new orders, profitability, and exports remain overall in negative territory, with particularly acute problems in the metalworking and mechanical engineering sectors, especially automotive and metallurgy, and in textiles and clothing.
Of opposite sign thetrend in the tertiary sector, which continues the expansionary phase initiated after Covid. Expectations are positive across all sectors, with very high peaks in trade and tourism, business services, ICT, and transportation. This trend is supported by stronger domestic demand and less dependence on international dynamics.
Exports, the variable that slows growth
Il geopolitical context and trade tensions continue weighing on exportsThe survey shows a clear correlation: the greater the share of exports in turnover, the worse production expectations become.
Companies less exposed to foreign markets express significantly more optimistic opinions, while companies with a high export share remain cautious, especially in relation to their main European partners.
Gay: "We need to speed up the ongoing dossiers."
According to the president of the Turin Industrial Union, Marco Gay, the data indicate "cautious optimism". but they require rapid and coherent decisions. "Even in a context that remains highly uncertain, the indications that companies are providing in the economic analysis for the start of 2026 lead to cautious optimism. "The first indications at European level on the automotive sector are certainly a first sign "This is a step in the direction we have always hoped for, especially with regard to technological neutrality. Likewise, the provisions supporting business investments included by the Government in the budget package must be welcomed, and these must now be confirmed and implemented swiftly in the implementing decrees," explains the president.
E 2026 will be a crucial year because “thelatest of the PNRR and export-related fears now mainly concern our European partners, and will likely have an impact on the industrial supply chains in which we are protagonists. This is why, more than ever, constant attention and acceleration are needed on the dossiers that are still pending, from the cost of energy to infrastructure, from training to the use of Artificial Intelligence, from the cost of labor to the size of our companies, placing industrial intelligence and investments at the center"
"The Piedmontese companies approach 2026”- he comments Andrea Amalberto, president of Confindustria Piemonte – “confirming the willingness to invest to grow and develop their businesses. It's not a gamble, but a truly great gesture of trust that should be welcomed and valued by all those who make up our economic fabric. What awaits us will be another very challenging year Just like 2025, which, after many, perhaps too many, concerns, has instead seen stronger than expected growth in recent months. This result was achieved thanks to our companies' ability to adapt quickly to the market, both in terms of commercial outlets and in terms of product, process, and technology offerings. Those looking to Piedmont know they can find efficient and advanced solutions in this region, a quality recognized by Italian and international partners, across sectors and supply chains.
