Acimall records strong 2018 and slower start to 2019

The year closed with domestic production at €2.514bn, up by 10.6% from the previous year. This “significant result”, the best in the past 10 years, was achieved with a very positive first six months on both the domestic and the export side, followed by a second half that basically maintained the same levels of June.

Also in 2018, the industry achieved an export value of €1.721bn (an increase of 8.2% over 2017) mostly in the European markets – accounting for approximately 70% of total exports – and in North America, mainly the US.

The sales trend in the domestic market was also excellent, at almost €800m, 16.4% more than in 2017.

According to Acimall Studies, the first quarter 2019 showed an overall reduction of orders, perhaps inevitable after the growth of 2017 and further expansion last year.

There was an 11% reduction of orders compared to Q1, 2018. Orders from abroad decreased by 10.2%, while domestic demand dropped by 14.5%.

Forward orders are at 3.7 months, while prices have been growing by 0.5% since the beginning of 2019. Revenue figures are recording an opposite trend to orders, with a 10.3% increase.