The result was solely driven by the good performance of manufacturers in the foreign market; the trend of orders collected in the domestic market was absolutely negative.
In particular, the orders collected abroad recorded an increase of 28.9% compared to the first quarter of 2025. The absolute index value stabilized at 95.9.
The orders collected in the domestic market, on the other hand, recorded a decrease of 28.8% compared to the same period last year, with an absolute index value of 67.3.
Riccardo Rosa, President of UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, stated: "The order index in the first quarter is rising, and this is certainly a positive signal, but absolutely unsatisfactory for Italian manufacturers. The foreign market is performing – but for how long? Meanwhile, Italy is stagnant and is at the mercy of the announcements from government authorities regarding hyper-depreciation, which – just like with Transizione 5.0 – are taking their time."
"The increase in activities abroad shows – despite the unstable geopolitical climate we face daily – the ability of Italian manufacturers to tap into demand where it can most concretely materialize, by focusing on regions and sales markets that are willing to invest. This is an important and meticulous job that our companies have been doing for several months, utilizing all the opportunities and knowledge available to them. As foreign demand can still materialize despite everything, it becomes even clearer that the blockage of domestic demand is due to waiting – as we can see – for clarifications on the hyper-depreciation measure."
"How is it possible to find ourselves in the same situation as in 2025, dependent on the constant announcements and retractions of our government authorities? As it was conceived – Riccardo Rosa continues – the hyper-depreciation should promote the innovation of our industry; instead, it forces companies to wait, suspended between an implementation decree and a directorate decree, effectively freezing the numerous negotiations currently underway. In short: The willingness of Italian users to invest is present, but nothing will happen until all technical details of the measure are announced."
"We welcomed the government's decision to equip the manufacturing industry with a measure like hyper-depreciation, which has a multi-year duration from 2026 to 2028. But – Rosa notes – this waiting period, which will effectively extend over a good part of the first half of 2026, has immediately reminded us of the truly frustrating experience with 5.0."
"The point is that the manufacturing industry – as emphasized by the President of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini – is concerned not only because of the geopolitical environment but also due to the sluggishness with which representatives of state institutions work, both at the national and European levels."
"In this quarter – emphasizes Rosa – Italian manufacturers received orders thanks to foreign demand, despite all the previously mentioned difficulties. But what would happen if the conflict in Iran were to last longer? It would no longer be about managing a complete or partial closure of a market. Instead, we would be facing a much worse situation. That is why it is crucial to implement all necessary measures promptly to make hyper-depreciation effective so that Italian companies can make the planned investments that are currently frozen."
"Furthermore – concludes the President of UCIMU – we urge government authorities to advocate in Europe for the necessity of being able to count on a strong and determined union that can define common policies and programs that enable us to respond to global geopolitical instability as best as possible before it overwhelms us."
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