Italy’s machine tool manufacturers see a bounce in orders

Riccardo Rosa, president of UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre

The latest data from UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre — the Italian machine tool manufacturers’ association — shows that in the second quarter of 2025, the index of machine tool orders recorded a 22% rise compared to the period April-June 2024, giving an absolute index value of 64.4 (base year 2021=100). This result reflected increased order intakes in both the foreign and domestic markets.

Orders collected in the Italian market showed a 70.3% upturn versus the second quarter of 2024, for an absolute index value of 54.0; in foreign markets orders were up by 9.5% compared to Q2 2024 (absolute index value of 74.6).

Ucimu’s president Ricardo Rosa said: “This latest measurement of the Ucimu index confirms the positive trend in order intake that Italian machine tool manufacturers have been experiencing for four consecutive quarters. However, concerns remain because the context conditions are worsening as the months go by. When considering the absolute indexes, the weakness of demand — especially domestically — is still evident.

“Indeed, the increase in orders registered by Italian manufacturers in the domestic market is remarkable because it is compared with a really disastrous second quarter of 2024) — the worst in the last 10 years, with the exception of 2020, which coincided with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Uncertainty caused by US tariffs
Mr Rosa also mentioned the effects that uncertainties concerning US tariffs (on 27 July, the USA subsequently agreed a tariff on all EU goods of 15% rather than the threatened 30%) were having on fuelling uncertainty and being the primary factor blocking investment in production technologies — and not only regarding the US market. “The situation impacts all the supply chains in which we are present, in all those markets that export goods to the other side of the ocean — automotive, various mechanics, and components.”

He went on to say that regarding automotive, Ucimu urges the Italian government to act as spokespeople in European forums, and rethink “when and how to ensure the neutrality of the environmental impact of the sector that has supported Europe’s development more than any other. “We are not against the transition to other forms of mobility, but we think that this transition must be approached without prejudice: by asserting the principle of technological neutrality, setting emission reduction targets, and leaving enterprises free to choose the technologies to achieve them.”

He concluded: “Furthermore, when assessing the sustainability of this transition process, considering not only the environmental impact but also the economic and social consequences.”