- Prior 44.9
Further demand weakness is adding to the woes in Italy's manufacturing sector, with employment conditions also seen worsening. On the latter, firms are seen cutting jobs at the fastest rate in 40 months. HCOB notes that:
“Italy's manufacturing industry is at risk of getting stuck in the recession muck. The HCOB Manufacturing PMI came in shockingly poor at an index value of 44.4 in November. The shrinkage across the sector is extensive, and there's no clear sign of how the sector could be pulled out of the current recession. According to our HCOB Nowcast, we're currently anticipating a slight contraction of 0.1% in manufacturing production in the final quarter of 2023.
"Italy's manufacturing industry is really taking a hit lately. This weakness has particularly intensified for output, quantities of purchases, stocks of purchases, and employment compared to the previous month. The fact that companies are now cutting workforce numbers, given the profound shortage of skilled workers, is a cause for concern. It looks like the Italian goods-producing industry is heading for further tough times ahead.
"Although facing challenges, firms can take some respite from falling input prices and speedier supplier deliveries. However, with shrinking output prices and backlogs of work, these improvements offer only limited assistance to the struggling industry.
"Italian manufacturers are grappling with a lack of optimism. The significant downturn in incoming orders, both domestic and foreign, provides no encouraging signals. Despite the sub-index for future expectations pointing towards improvement, it remains below its long-term average, reflecting a rather gloomy outlook. Companies surveyed expressing pessimism attributed it to geopolitical tensions and concerns about sustained lower future demand.”
