On the Italian Economy 
 

Italy has a diversified economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, highly subsidized, agricultural south, where unemployment is higher. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family-owned. 

 

Italy is the third-largest economy in the euro zone, but its exceptionally high public debt and structural impediments to growth have rendered it vulnerable to scrutiny by financial markets. Public debt has increased steadily since 2007, reaching 131% of GDP in 2017. Investor concerns about Italy and the broader euro-zone crisis eased in 2013, bringing down Italy’s borrowing costs on sovereign government debt from euro-era records. Italy’s economy returned to modest growth in late 2014 for the first time since late 2011. In 2015-16, Italy’s economy grew more than 0.8% each year, but picked up in 2017. In 2017, overall unemployment was 11.4%, but youth unemployment remained high at 37.1%.


 

2018 Overview
 

In the second quarter, Italian economic growth suffered from a negative contribution of net foreign demand and a decline in labor productivity only partially offset by the recovery of capital accumulation. The diffusion index decreased in manufacturing and remained constant in services. Inflation is recovering, at a slower pace than the euro area. The leading indicator suggests a moderate pace for the next months.
 

At the same time, the euro-dollar exchange depreciated further compared to July (-1.3% m-o-m). The Brent price decelerated (-2.8% m-o-m) being on average at 74.2 dollars per barrel. According to CPB data, World trade stagnated in the second quarter, partly influenced by the introduction of the import tariffs from the US administration. In June the volume of the world trade decreased by 0.8% as a result of a slight decreasing trade in advanced countries (-0.5%), and a marked deceleration of emerging economies (-1.2%). 
 

In Q2 Italian GDP increased by 0.2%, slightly decelerating compared to the previous quarter (+0.3% in Q1). Italian economic growth has been driven by domestic demand (0.6 percentage points). Investments and inventories provided a positive contribution (0.5 pp. and 0.2 pp respectively) partially counterbalanced by the negative contribution of foreign demand (-0.5 pp.). In Q2, imports were considerably more dynamic (+1.8% q-o-q) than exports (-0.2%).
 

Investments growth is driven by the upsurge of machinery and equipment (+7.5%) and transport equipment (9.2%) only slightly counterbalanced by the decline of intellectual property assets (-1.1%). Over the first semester of 2018, exports growth in volume terms was relatively lower in extra-EU market (+0.5%) compared to the EU (+1.7%). Exports of non-durable consumer goods and intermediate goods increased substantially (+2.6% and +2.4% respectively), while exports of durable consumer goods decelerated (-1.1%). In Q2, value added in manufacturing, construction and services increased (+0.3% and +0.2% q-o-q respectively). In the first semester of 2018, the diffusion index, that measures the percentage of growing sectors out of the total, decreased in manufacturing and remained stable in services.


 

Italian Fastener Market
 

In Italy, the development of Fastener  Industry is supported by local associations and fastener fairs organized in the country. The intensive participation of Italian producers and exporters in international fairs keeps the sector alive and open to sectoral developments  As there are many manufacturers still working inward many of them work in the world through representatives also supports faster access, international trade and globalization.
 

The most important reason why Italy is one of the leading countries both in Europe and in the world in the fasteners sector is that it has an improved quality in fastener technologies such as machine, die, wire and in customized fastener products. The fact that there are many Italian companies selling machines, dies and wire to the world is a sign of this quality. There are also many Italian companies in die design and software that are quite advanced.Many of the second-hand machines used by the newly-emerging countries in the fasteners sector are Italian. Italy is also known for its quality in the production of packaging machines, coatings and heat treatment plants. The fact that 30-40 year old machines still work, indicates the quality of Italian production machines.
 

The main industries in Italy, as one of the key players in the EU, are machinery building, motor vehicle production, aircraft and household equipment. After Germany, the country is the 2nd largest machinery producer in Europe; the country produces virtually all categories of machinery. Of course, the general construction industry is also among the major market segments.




 

Total Exports of fasteners to all world by Italy reached 1.9005 million usd in 2017. The average annual growth between 2016 2017 was 8%. Italy, as one of the leading exporters was placed in the second position  with total export value in the EU. In 2017, the most fastener exported countries were Germany, France, USA, Spain, Poland and UK.


 

Most imported countries in fastener products during  2017 were Germany,China and Taiwan. Growth in Total imports in fasteners products between the years 2016-2017 have increased by 15%.
 

Non-threaded fasteners are forecast to show the highest growth rate in the next few years, as innovations in this product area may offer end-users interesting cost advantages.
 

The market for fasteners with 6-sided heads has decreased quickly in recent years. As their production was relatively energy-intensive, they have been replaced by round headed products with an inner profile.
 

The threat to industrial fastener manufacturers is that professional tapes, adhesives and glues gain in importance and replace fasteners, but very slowly, in a wide range of applications. Therefore, there are better opportunities for producers who are able to supply advanced fasteners by offering customized manufacturing based on the need of end-users.
 

One of the major trends emerging in Italian industrial fastener market is the development of industry- specific fasteners. For instance, companies are developing alloy fasteners and wrenchable nuts with increased strength and corrosion and temperature-resistance properties for the aerospace and defence sector. Other developments are in the area of self-clinching and self-locking fasteners that are expected to enhance the operational efficiency for plastic assemblies.
 

Light weight fasteners are clearly increasing in popularity in Western Europe, especially in the professional markets in Italy. Such fasteners are increasingly made of stainless steel, and aluminum. Steel light weight fasteners are coated with teflon or geomet, instead of being galvanized < Source: CIA World Factbook, Istat, ITC