Italian industry: declinism or decline? (2005)

The long-term analysis of the production trend in Italian industry, published in the 2005 Italy Report, shows a generalised drop in industrial production (the general index of total orders shows a drop of 7.9 points in the period 2000-2004). It has affected both sectors with low and high added value: in detail, there have been significant decreases in the leather and footwear sectors (-15.6 points), electrical and precision equipment (-20.7), transport (-22.6) and furniture (-6.3). The most alarming data is that of the trend in industrial production which, seasonally adjusted, i.e. compared to the same number of working days, shows a drop of 0.4%. These data are still provisional and may be revised at the beginning of March, but it is clear that the Italian economy is at a standstill point and also the black sheep within Europe, where the other large countries, even those in need such as France and Germany, have nevertheless shown growth in income of around 2%, and in any case, a better one compared to last year. The loss of competitiveness of our system is undoubtedly the cause of the Italian recession, to which must be added the collapse of consumption following the loss of purchasing power of the middle classes. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which for years have been the driving force behind our economy and which in previous years had been able to resist and absorb the effects of the recession, no longer seem able to continue to face the effects of increasing international pressure, worsened by the lack of an industrial project for the country as a whole.