Industrial revenue slowed in June (-1 per cent)
Growth of 3.1 per cent year-on-year, but volumes are falling.
Down on the previous month, but up year-on-year – though this is solely due to the price effect.
The figures released by Istat on industrial turnover in June show a mixed picture, with a one-point fall compared with May, reflecting a slowdown in both value and volume terms. On an annual basis, however, there was a 3.1 per cent increase, although volumes contracted by almost one percentage point. The situation was similar for the first half of the year as a whole, with revenue rising by 2.6 per cent and volumes remaining virtually unchanged at +0.1 per cent.
The sectors driving up the year-on-year average are, in particular, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and rubber and plastics, but above all the metals sector (+13.9 per cent), driven upwards by rising prices due to energy costs. The energy sector, in particular, recorded the most significant year-on-year growth, with revenues rising by over 22 per cent.
The first half of the year thus confirmed the overall stagnation in industry, with production between January and June showing growth of just 0.5 per cent – a figure held back mainly by the fashion and chemicals sectors, whilst the recovery in the automotive sector was the main driving force.
There are also mixed results when it comes to exports. For whilst it is true that in the first six months, despite a challenging international climate, our cross-border sales rose by 4.5 per cent, a significant proportion of this growth (an additional seven billion, half of the overall increase in absolute terms for ‘Made in Italy’) is linked to the sale of gold bullion to Switzerland, whilst more than one sector ended the half-year in decline (fashion, paper, furniture) or at the previous year’s levels (machinery).
