The Italian manufacturing industry closes the first five months of 2021 with a turnover even higher than pre-Covid levels. The difference is 5,3% compared to the January-May period of 2019 and 31% compared to the same months of 2020. A result to which both the internal question both i international markets. This is what emerges from the Report on the Industrial Sectors edited by Intesa Sanpaolo and Prometeia.
The analysis also shows that there is still a gap to fill in terms of production (-2,6% compared to the same period of 2019), but clearly lower than those accumulated by the manufacturers of Germany (-8%), France (-7.4%) And Spain (-5,1%).
However, the industrial production index recovered most of the losses incurred during the most acute phase of the health crisis in 2020, recording a +24% trend growth in the first five months of the year.
Overall, our country's manufacturing "has managed to intercept the opportunities offered by the domestic and international economic recovery - reads the report - where mature economies have recovered the baton from the emerging ones, accelerating the path of recovery in turnover already undertaken in the second half of 2020”.
Partial support, the study continues, has come from prices (+1,9% again in the first five months of the year), which "reflect the widespread increases in raw material markets, particularly intense for some sectors".
Moreover, compared to the manufacturing of the other main economies of the Eurozone, the Italian one was able to count on a higher one investment dynamism (+11,4% on an annual basis and +3,7% on a quarterly basis in the first quarter) and on the good export recovery, up 4,0% in the first five months compared to the same period of 2019, against -6,7% in France, -1,4% in Germany and +3,1% in Spain.
Very dynamic too internal component of turnover, up by 7,2% compared to the January-May period of 2019.
As far as individual sectors are concerned, Italy has surpassed pre-crisis levels of turnover and production across the whole construction chain, including the home appliances and furniture sectors, driven by incentives.
According to the Intesa-Prometeia report, the producers of intermediate goods are also above pre-Covid levels, supported by the building cycle and the recovery of mechanics, cars and motorbikes, sectors in which Italy appears further ahead in the recovery path (the production gap is even double-digit compared to Germany, France and Spain).
On the other hand, the sectors less penalized by the pandemic, such as the pharmaceutica andfeed.
As for the future, the indicators "currently remain unanimous in outlining expectations of a still positive evolution of the manufacturing cycle in the coming months - continues the report - but the uncertainty on the marching pace that will be able to sustain, hand in hand with the new increase in infections".
Not to mention that Italian manufacturing has to face "upward pressures on procurement costs - concludes the Intesa-Prometeia study - which could dampen the effects of a recovery in turnover, squeezing margins and profitability in the coming months".
