Great news for the Italian tile industry: according to pre-consultations by Confindustria Ceramica and Prometeia, total sales reached 458 million sq m, up 12 percent on 2019, the pre-covid year.
The figures are also good on the export front, registering +15 percent over 2020 and +13 percent over 2019. In particular, although export growth covers all markets, the best numbers are in the United States, in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Sales in Italy return to growth after 20 years (up 9 percent on 2019).
Shadows to growth: price increases
While the figures for the industry are more than encouraging, growth is likely to suffer a setback due to steep increases in the energy and raw materials component.
President of Confindustria Ceramica Giovanni Savorani explained that the energy bill of the Italian ceramic industry used to be 250 million euros a year, while today, with a 400 percent increase in price,it can reach 1 billion euros,
"an unsustainable cost explosion" for the industry.
"The positive intonation of the market and demand will allow us to close this year's budgets well, but we can by no means rejoice ," said Savorani. " The very strong growth in the costs of all production factors is putting a strain on the present and future competitiveness of our companies. Perhaps for the first time in our history, we are experiencing a paradox: we are full of orders from all over the world that are colliding with very high tensions on margins."
The exponential increase in the cost of the energy component is also due to ETS quotations, which, from 20/25 euros per ton, have now reached 85 euros.
Rising prices also affect other inputs, such as cardboard, pallets and shrink film. Raw materials also deserve a separate discussion: in addition to price increases, there is often a shortage on the market, preventing companies from producing according to schedule.
Added to this is also the crisis in sea transport, starting with the very sharp rise in sea freight rates accompanied by the difficulty in sourcing containers. This condition results in delayed deliveries and very severe cost increases.
