During the annual Amaplast Member Assembly, held on 30 June 2026 at Villa Baiana in Monticelli Brusati near Brescia, the results of the Italian plastics and rubber machinery, equipment and moulds industry for 2025 were presented. The association, which brings together more than 170 manufacturers and operates within the Confindustria system, presented data discussed by President Massimo Margaglione on the basis of the sixth edition of the national statistical survey conducted by the MECS–Amaplast research centre. The analysis covered 435 manufacturing companies employing nearly 15,300 people. Total turnover for the surveyed group reached EUR 4.62 billion, representing a year-on-year decline of 4.2%. Exports continued to play a key role for the sector and accounted for 73% of sales. Around 51% of the companies covered by the survey are based in Lombardy. They were followed by Emilia-Romagna with a 15% share, Veneto with 14%, and Piedmont with nearly 8%.
The survey also shows a clear differentiation in the structure of the sector by company size. The largest group, accounting for around one-third of all businesses, consists of the smallest companies, with annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2.5 million. Collectively, however, they account for only 3.8% of the total value of industry sales. At the other end are the largest companies, with annual turnover exceeding EUR 50 million. They represent only 2.5% of the total population, but generate 29% of total sales. The survey also indicates that as company scale increases, average turnover per employee and the share of exports also rise. In the largest companies, exports exceed 84% of sales, while in the smallest they amount to 46%. Larger enterprises, supported by more developed commercial structures, more often serve distant markets, while smaller ones focus primarily on European destinations.
Demand structure and main machinery groups
In terms of customer sectors, the overall picture remains broadly stable compared with previous years. The largest share of turnover comes from sales to the packaging industry, including around 31% from food packaging and 16% from non-food packaging. Both segments recorded slight growth. They were followed by automotive with a 14% share, after a slight decline, construction with 11%, and medical applications with 5%, while the latter two areas remained broadly stable.
In product terms, excluding the heterogeneous “other machinery” category, extruders together with downstream equipment remain the largest group. They account for 18.2% of total industry turnover. They are followed by auxiliary equipment with a 14.6% share, and moulds and dies with 9.2%.
Exports under pressure, shifts in key markets
According to Istat data, exports, historically the sector’s main growth driver, fell by 5% in 2025 compared with 2024, after four consecutive years of growth, reaching a total value of EUR 3.41 billion. At the same time, it is worth noting that from the low recorded in 2020 to the end of 2024, export value had rebounded by 32%.
Italian manufacturers recorded the strongest growth in the Far East, averaging around 12%. This result was driven primarily by the region’s two largest markets, China, where growth reached 8%, and India, where it increased by as much as 40%.
Within the European Union, exports remained broadly stable, although the two main destinations, Germany and France, recorded declines of 4% and 12% respectively. In Germany, a difficult market environment persists, with conditions assessed as even more challenging than those faced by Italian machinery manufacturers.
The decline in technology supplies to German plastics processors, combined with a 9% increase in exports to the United States, despite the difficulties and uncertainty associated with the introduction of tariffs, meant that the US market virtually caught up with Germany as the leading destination for Italian exports in this sector. The value of shipments to each of these countries amounted to around EUR 380 million. Such a small gap between the two economies is a new development.
In the rest of the Americas, the situation was mixed. While the US market remained resilient, exports to Mexico fell by 32%, although the country had recorded exceptionally strong growth in the previous period. In Brazil, performance was heavily affected by the difficult economic situation, and Italian exports there declined by 45%. This drop was only partially offset by the recovery in demand in Argentina, where a 32% increase was recorded.
Given the difficult regional environment, the 20% decline in exports to the Middle East was not surprising. In Africa, the picture was mixed. Exports to Mediterranean countries increased by an average of 12%, with the exception of Tunisia, while shipments to sub-Saharan African countries contracted by 30%, despite positive results in Nigeria and Kenya.
Imports and signals from early 2026
Istat data show that imports increased markedly, by 23%, reaching EUR 1.17 billion. According to the assessment presented, this trend can largely be linked to the impact of the Industry 4.0 and Transition 5.0 investment support programmes.
The latest Istat foreign trade data for the first quarter of the current year, however, point to a slowdown. Imports fell by around 31%, and exports by around 4%.
