Skip to main content

Low Italian machine sales

The number of construction machines sold on the Italian market decreased by 36% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, according to Unacea, the association for Italian construction equipment attachment manufacturers. In Q1 2013, Unacea says 1,157 machines were sold domestically, of which 1,106 were earthmoving machines, 23 were road machines, and 28 were concrete machine/equipment sales. Moreover, according to the foreign trade monitor of the Construction Equipment Outlook publish
May 22, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
Italian equipment manufacturers are relying heavily on exports at present
The number of construction machines sold on the Italian market decreased by 36% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, according to 2539 Unacea, the association for Italian construction equipment attachment manufacturers.

In Q1 2013, Unacea says 1,157 machines were sold domestically, of which 1,106 were earthmoving machines, 23 were road machines, and 28 were concrete machine/equipment sales.

Moreover, according to the foreign trade monitor of the Construction Equipment Outlook published by Unacea and Prometeia, Italian exports of construction machines reached €131 million in January 2013, a decrease of 1.8% compared to the previous year. After the increase by 3% over the whole of 2012, Unacea claims the January decrease appears to be connected to the parallel decrease in intra-3287 EU trade (-19%), and trade with Eastern Europe and Turkey (-28%), where the largest part of exports is directed.

By contrast, there has been a 51% increase of Italian manufactured construction equipment trade on African markets, and an 18% increase in Asian market sales. An increase has also been registered in exports of crushing and screening equipment ( 6%), tower cranes ( 46%), concrete equipment ( 17%) and drilling machines ( 18%), as opposed to a decrease in exports of earthmoving machines (-16%) and road machines (-20%). Trade balance of the whole section is said to remain a positive €107 million, an increase by 7% compared to January 2012 – this positive result is due to the persisting internal market stagnation, whose imports  (23.816 million euros) have decreased by 29% compared to last year.

“In Italy, the construction machines sector keeps on being extremely affected by the lack of growth-focused policies,” said Enrico Prandini, vice president of Unacea. “The economic crisis and the lack of adequate controls determine a paradoxical situation where, despite huge investments required by European legislation, non-compliant machines are still employed in construction sites, thus distorting competition and being a possible risk to safety and the environment.”

Prandini said that Unacea is demanding that the newly-installed Italian government introduce award systems in tenders in order to favour companies using latest generation, safer, efficient and environmentally-friendly machines. “We also demand that non-compliant machines are no longer placed on the market and that adequate surveillance arrangements are made, starting from the institution of a construction equipment register.” added Prandini.

Davide Cipolla, 2203 CIFA managing director and Unacea councillor for the concrete equipment sector, added: “The Italian market of concrete equipment follows the general decrease of the whole division in terms of causes and range. The number of machines in use is obsolescing, and this may have negative consequences on end-user undertaking efficiency, as well as on environment and safety. In this respect, we report that around 85% of industrial production of concrete in Italy is still carried out through the dry system, i.e. with plants lacking mixer, despite premixing processes have been scientifically proven to ensure high quality and reliability of the product.”

Cipolla said that Unacea is asking for the introduction of measures aimed to spread the culture of premixing as a tool to increase concrete quality and performance, in favour of building safety and quality.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Italian construction machine market growing
    May 4, 2016
    A slow but steady improvement in machine sales is being observed in Italy as the market recovers. Over the first three months of 2016, 1,977 construction machines have been sold into the Italian market, according to the country’s construction equipment manufacturing association, the UNACEA. This gain in sales represents an increase of 29% compared to the same period in 2015. The sales were for 1,879 earthmoving machines and 76 road machines.
  • Italy sees steady growth in construction machine sales
    July 23, 2018
    Italy has seen steady growth in sales of construction machines during the first two quarters of 2018. During this period there were 6,389 units of construction machines sold in the Italian market. This is of note as it represents a 25% jump in sales over the same period for 2017. Of the machines sold, earthmoving equipment dominated, with 6,157 units, while there were also 232 road machines sold. The data has been released jointly by the Monitor of Foreign Trade of the Samoter Outlook, edited by Prometeia
  • Italian manufacturers note machine sales increase
    May 13, 2014
    Italian equipment manufacturers report encouraging signs in terms of sales. This follows a six year slump that saw the domestic market fall 80%, although exports continue to dominate turnover. The Foreign Trade Monitor of Construction Equipment Outlook by the equipment organisations Unacea and Prometeia indicates that exports of construction machinery in January 2014 were worth €160 million, posting an increase of 21.6% compared to the previous year. At the end of 2013 sales had dropped 3% compared with the
  • Italian manufacturer body Unacea reveals machine exports
    October 31, 2014
    The Italian construction equipment manufacturer body Unacea has revealed comprehensive information on machine sales and exports. The data shows that construction machine sales in Italy grew 12% in the first nine months of 2014. However exports fell 7% and Unacea believes that the export performance of Italian manufacturers on the world market will have shrunk by the end of the year compared with the figures for 2013. Over the first nine months of 2014, construction equipment sold in the Italian market sto