UCIMU: in the second quarter, machine tool orders increased (+22%), foreign orders (+9.5%) and domestic orders (+70.3%)

Riccardo Rosa, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: "This latest UCIMU index survey also confirms the positive trend in order intake. Despite this, concerns remain, as the context is worsening as the months go by."

In the second quarter of 2025, the machine tool order index compiled by the UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE Study & Business Culture Center showed a 22% increase compared to the April-June 2024 period. In absolute terms, the index stood at 64.4 (base 100 in 2021).

This result was driven by the increase in order intake on both the foreign and domestic markets.

In particular, orders collected on the domestic market increased by 70.3% compared to the second quarter of 2024, for an absolute value of 54.0.

On the foreign market, order intake increased by 9.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. The absolute value of the index stood at 74.6.

The results will be presented during the First Economic Day organized today by UCIMU with the aim of illustrating to member companies (over forty accredited companies) the types and methods of use of the data processed by the Centro Studi & Cultura di Impresa.

Riccardo Rosa, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: "This latest UCIMU index survey also confirms the positive trend in order intake that Italian machine tool manufacturers have been experiencing for four consecutive quarters. Despite this, concerns remain, as the underlying conditions are worsening as the months go by."

"Looking at the absolute indices," Riccardo Rosa continued, "the weakness of demand, particularly domestic demand, is still evident. The increase recorded by manufacturers on the domestic market is particularly significant because it compares with a truly disastrous quarter (the second of 2024), the worst in the last 10 years with the exception of 2020, which coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic."

"On the international front, President Trump's latest statements and the content of the letter sent to the President of the European Commission announcing new tariff rates for EU-sourced products are certainly disheartening. Once again, we manufacturing entrepreneurs must hold our nerve and await developments, knowing full well that the US president's attitude is, to say the least, unpredictable. A war on Made in Europe exports would be a severe penalty not only for the Eurozone but also for the US and its people in particular. Therefore," added Riccardo Rosa, "we trust in the Brussels authorities' ability to engage in dialogue and bring Trump back to a reasonable negotiation. At this point, however, we can no longer ignore an alternative plan in case the dialogue fails to yield the desired results."

"This is because the continuation of this situation fuels uncertainty, which, I must reiterate, is the primary factor blocking investment in production technologies, not just in the US market. The situation is now widespread, impacting all the supply chains in which we operate, in all those markets that export goods to the other side of the ocean; I'm thinking of the automotive, mechanical engineering, and components industries".

"Given the enormous effort companies are making to diversify their markets and outlet sectors, we urge European authorities to accelerate the planning of free trade agreements with countries experiencing, or about to experience, a long period of development, starting with Africa and parts of Asia. At the same time, we urge strong action to reduce red tape for economic players residing and operating in the Old Continent, thus unlocking the full potential that our true internal market, the EU, can still offer."

"Closely related to this is the automotive sector. We ask Italian government authorities to advocate in European forums for the need to rethink the timing and methods of ensuring the environmental neutrality of the sector that has supported Europe's development more than any other.
We are not opposed to the transition to alternative forms of mobility to internal combustion engines, but we believe this transition must be approached without prejudice: by upholding the principle of technological neutrality, setting emissions reduction targets, and leaving businesses free to choose the technologies to achieve them. This is also because, in assessing the sustainability of this transition process, economic and social impacts must be considered not only environmental but also social. And, in a situation complicated by the trade war, the risk of industrial desertification is increasingly real. We absolutely cannot allow this".

"On the domestic front," concluded President Riccardo Rosa, "hoping that Transition 5.0 can still be extended beyond December 31st, thus allowing machine tool manufacturers and machinery manufacturers in general to receive a further round of orders, we emphasize the need to open a discussion table on the needs of manufacturing companies as soon as possible, after the August break, to better guide the lines of industrial policy for the coming years, given that the measures we have at our disposal, 4.0 and 5.0, are coming to an end. We reiterate UCIMU's willingness to participate in the working groups, which we hope will lead to a new, necessary plan to support the evolution of the country's manufacturing sector, to Confindustria and the government authorities."