Italian tile industry prepares for sluggish 2008

The Italian ceramic companies can expect another difficult year. According to the forecasts announced yesterday by Confindustria Ceramica chairman Alfonso Panzani, the difficult international economic situation will continue in 2008. The Italian industry hopes to maintain last year's results, although it cannot rule out a further decrease.
There are numerous causes for concern.
The most significant is the continued rise in energy costs, which is partially frustrating the efforts made by the purchasing consortium Gas Intensive and the elimination of duty on natural gas. Confindustria Ceramica hopes to rapidly establish a national energy policy that will set clear guidelines for the coming years and reduce Italy's dependency on foreign suppliers.
Italian companies are making considerable efforts to adopt production technologies capable of improving the energy efficiency of plants and protection of the environment.
The costs of raw materials and bank interest rates are also expected to rise, resulting in a worsening of the credit situation of companies that take out loans.

Further negative factors include the continuation of the crisis in the United States and the expected slowdown in markets such as Italy and Great Britain. Positive performances are expected in Eastern Europe, the Far East and the Middle East, which are increasingly interested in Italian quality and design.

But in spite of these forecasts there is a sense of cautious optimism in the industry. Italian companies remain a step ahead of their foreign competitors and are making efforts to establish an ever stronger presence in the various countries both through an increase of production internationalisation and through logistic centres, either proprietary or owned by third companies such as Cargo Clay.