The ceramics sector suffered a major downturn during the early months of the pandemic. In this recovery phase, there is another factor jeopardizing companies' turnovers: rising raw material prices.

According to estimates, soaring prices of raw materials, components, logistics and energy will raise the production costs of the ceramic machinery industry by 30 percent.

In addition to rising prices for raw materials such as steel, problems include delays in component deliveries and rising logistics expenses. All this is accompanied by the growth in spending on the energy component.

The alarm was echoed by Ceramic World Review, which shared the appeal of Paolo Mongardi, president of Acimac, the Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machinery and Equipment for Ceramics: "The severe stress test to which our industry is subjected cannot fail to have consequences. We therefore call for urgent system interventions to prevent the disproportionate rise in production costs, due both to the global situation but also to speculative impulses, from jeopardizing the recovery and the resilience of companies."

According to President Mongardi, "If the situation does not change, many companies in our industry risk collapse, thwarting the post-pandemic restart with consequences for the entire supply chain in our district."

The voice of Confindustria Ceramica

The appeal was also made by Confindustria Ceramica,which calculated that by 2022, the Italian tile industry would have to pay a gas bill of 1.25 billion euros, nearly a quarter of the sector's turnover.

This expense is not sustainable for a production factor that already weighs more than 25 percent of manufacturing costs. "With these costs, the Italian ceramic industry can resist at most until the first quarter of 2022," Confindustria Ceramica President Giovanni Savorani told Il Sole 24 Ore.

Not just Italy: the Spanish situation

This scenario is not just Italian. In Spain, the national trade association ASCER said that, in light of gas and electricity prices at the end of September, the sector's energy bill in 2021 could increase by more than 148 percent over last year.

Speaking in numbers, gas costs, which stood at €27.08/MWh in Spain in January, rose to €65.2/MWh in September (+140%); electricity also rose 160%, from €60.17/MWh to €156.14/MWh.

All this translates into extra spending for the ceramics industry of more than 700 million euros a year.

The common need is to take action so that the recovery is not thwarted and the sector becomes productive again.