AGI – Record leap of the Italian manufacturing index in April: in one month it went from 59.8 to 60.7 points, the biggest improvement ever since the index was calculated (June 1997).
The rate of increase in production alone was the third highest ever, while the growth in new orders, resulting from stronger customer demand and improved market confidence, was the highest since April 2000.
The extraordinary performance in April, explains Ihs Markit, is mainly attributable to the faster growth of production and new orders: the former rose to a record third on a monthly basis, while total new orders grew to the highest level in 21 years.
The sample companies attributed the growth to better demand and greater customer confidence. Foreign orders remained high in April, increasing significantly albeit at a slightly slower rate than in March.
“The Italian manufacturing sector continues its strong recovery in April – comments Lewis Cooper, Economist of Ihs Markit – The main SME reached an all-time high of 60.7, due to the near-record growth in production and the faster expansion of new orders in 21 years, with sample companies reporting yet another improvement in demand conditions and greater customer confidence.
However, disruptions in the distribution chain continue to hold back the sector. Average delivery times have lengthened to near record levels, significantly increasing costs and placing greater inflationary pressures.
As a result, companies have raised average selling prices to record levels. However, the latest figures showed nothing but an overall stellar industry performance.
Consumer goods producers continued to lag in part due to the significant impact of supply issues. Almost record growth, however, was observed in the intermediate goods and investment goods subsector.
Companies in the sector remained convinced that production will increase further over the next year, and even if the obstacles on the distribution chain remain a great concern, the latest SME data have not yet shown signs of a slowdown in the Italian manufacturing sector “.
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