Italian Textile Machinery Orders Drop 16% in Q3 2025

Italian textile machinery sector sees sharp dip in orders across domestic and global markets.

ACIMIT reports a 16% decline in Italy’s textile machinery orders index for Q3 2025, reflecting weakened demand both in the country and abroad, though recent trade fair activity offers cautious optimism.

In the third quarter of 2025, the textile machinery orders index — prepared by the Economics Department of ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) — showed a 16% year-on-year decline compared with the same period in 2024. The index reached 41.8 points (base 2021 = 100).

Both domestic and international markets contributed to the downturn.
In Italy, order intake dropped 17%, bringing the domestic index to 49.9 points.
Overseas demand weakened as well, with foreign orders falling 16%, ending the quarter at 40.7 points. Despite this, the order backlog now covers four months of production, rising slightly from the 3.9 months recorded in Q2.

ACIMIT President Marco Salvadè noted: “The ACIMIT survey outlines a business climate where overall demand remains weak. In Italy the decline in order intake reflects the difficult period the textile supply chain is currently experiencing.”
He continued: “On foreign markets, however, we can see some signs of recovery. Although total order intake is still down compared to the first nine months of 2024, Italian textile machinery exports — based on official data for the first half of the year — show growth in some key markets such as India, Pakistan, and Egypt.”

He also highlighted the conclusion of ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore, which delivered encouraging engagement for Italian companies.
Salvadè added: “I believe the 100 Italian exhibitors can be satisfied both with the number and quality of visitors and with the business prospects generated by the many contacts made during the exhibition. I hope that the work carried out at the trade fair will translate into a stronger order intake within a geopolitical context marked by reduced uncertainty.”