Woodworking machinery: negative results also in the second quarter 2008

The negative trend of wood technology orders, already recorded in the first quarter of the year 2008, worsened in the April-June period. After 3 years of growth, the usual quarterly survey shows that, as compared to the same period of 2007, orders from the Italian market decreased by 17 percent, 10.7 percent from abroad.
The total reduction is therefore equal to 12.5 percent on a year-to-year basis.
From January to June, prices went up by 2.3 percent, while the period of ensured production, at the end of the first half of the year, went down from 3 to 2.4 months.
Based on the indications of the sample companies, the quality survey gave the following results: 76 percent indicate stationary production, 9 percent growing and 15 percent decreasing.
Available stocks are stationary according to 61 percent, decreasing according to 9 percent and growing according to the remaining 30 percent. Employment is considered as stationary by 88 percent of the sample, increasing by 6 percent and falling by 6 percent.
Forecasts for the next period are the following: international orders will be stationary according to 46 percent of the sample, further decreasing according to 51 percent, and increasing according to 3 percent (negative balance -48). Looking at the Italian market, in the coming months it is expected to have a constant situation according to 42 percent of the sample, a slowdown for 46 percent and a growth for the remaining 12 percent (negative balance, -34).