The latest data Istat on the Italian industrial production They could rewrite the concept of Made in Italy. Some of the sectors that traditionally represent Italian excellence in the world, such as clothing and automotive, have collapsed due to very intense sector crises. On the contrary, sectors that are generally not associated with our country, such as the pharmaceuticalare reaching even more important dimensions than traditional ones.
In general, between the end of 2024 and the beginning of the 2025 The crisis of Italian industrial production seems to be directed towards the end. January 2025 recorded a leap that did not only compensate for the collapse of December 2024, but made a growth trend that began last October resume.
Is the industrial production crisis over?
January was one of the best months for Italian industrial production since mid -2023. The general index has increased in a month of 3,2%. A growth widespread in all types of goods, whether they are instrumental, intermediate or consumption, and in all industrial sectors, with the exception of the energy, by its own very volatile nature.
However, this data must be contextualized. December 2024 was one of the most negative months for Italian industrial production in recent years. A -2.7% He had interrupted a positive, albeit moderately, two -month -old series ( +0.1% in October, +0.7% in November). The result of January, however, partially put Italian industrial production in growth, after a very difficult 2024.
The pharmaceutical, the new made in Italy
Analyzing the individual sectors, however, there is a very clear change in the orientation of Italian industrial production. The tendential data, therefore the comparison with January 2024, shows only one two -digit growth: +21.7% of the pharmaceutical sector. An extraordinary result that also partially dragged the chemical sector, second for growth at +6.2%.
The most recent estimates, those of 2023, speak of 52 billion euros of annual turnover for the entire sector, 49 of which depend on exports. Of these, however, 8 billion are directed towards the United States, given that it exposes the sector to the latest international tensions and the possible commercial war with the USA due to Trump’s duties.
The automotive crisis and its solutions
Some of the most representative sectors of Made in Italy, on the other hand, are going through a period of difficulty. The most exposed is that of the automotive, whose industrial production dropped by 13% in a year. An international crisis, which has invested almost all developed countries, aggravated by the provisions on the reduction of emissions.
Both nationally and at European level, governments are at work precisely to ease these measures and allow the sector to enhance the most productive segments. However, even in this area they frighten i American dutieswhich risk compromising any attempt at recovery.
The prospects of the fashion sector
The other sector historically linked to Italy which is going through a period of crisis is that of clothing. A collapse of 12.3% of industrial production in one year, due above all to the falls of sales in Chinabecause of the economic crisis, and in Russiabecause of the sanctions.
The crisis has put in difficulty of industrial districts, such as the Tuscan one, with a depth similar to that of the automotive, but which does not seem to have political solutions similar to the horizon.
