According to ISTAT, Italy's national statistics office, in May this year Italian industry decreased its turnover by 1.7 percent month on month and by 10.8 percent year on year.
In May, on month-on-month basis, the seasonally-adjusted turnover index in Italy decreased 2.3 percent for machinery, 8.8 percent in the energy sector and 1.3 percent for consumer goods. Among consumer goods, durable goods increased by 1.7 percent, while the turnover index for non-durable goods decreased by 1.7 percent. An increase of 0.4 percent month-on-month was registered for intermediate goods.
Compared to May 2010, the strongest performances in Italian industry in May this year were observed in chemical production, up 38.3 percent, and mining activity, up 18 percent.
With regard to total orders for Italian industry, in May this year there was a month-on-month increase of 4.1 percent and a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent. The strongest performances were observed in other machinery production (up 48.5 percent) and chemical production (up 42.5 percent).