It had long been suspected that the situation was not rosy for European manufacturers of rubber-plastic machines. The confirmation comes from Euromap, the European industry federation, which recently held a meeting at K2025 to review the economic scenario and future prospects. The good news is that Europe maintains global leadership in the production of machinery for plastics and rubber, with over 40% of the total value, followed by China (33%) and – at a distance – the United States (7%) and Japan (3%), despite a gradual shift in favor of China in recent years. And in the European context, Germany accounts for about half of European production, followed by Italy and Austria, with 16% and 13% respectively. The European leadership is also confirmed in exports, amounting to 13 billion euros, compared to China’s 8.2 billion and the United States’ 819 million. The bad news is that the demand for machinery, both in Europe and worldwide, has been declining for two years, and there are no signs of a turnaround in the short term. The main reason for the stagnation, according to Euromap, is the caution in investments by processing industries, which do not find sufficient returns in their target markets, especially in Europe and particularly in Germany. The expected recovery in demand this year did not materialize due to import tariffs on the USA and the uncertainties related to these measures, even just in terms of calculating the tariffs. “Our sector is inherently global, with closely interconnected international supply chains,” comments Alessandro Grassi, Vice President of Euromap and CEO of the Italian company Frigosystem. “It is not so much about import or export levels, but about a global division of labor that benefits all participants.”

Source: https://www.polimerica.it/articolo.asp?id=34665