Italy's machine tools, robots and automation producers' association (UCIMU) has stated at its annual meeting that in 2011 Italy ranked fourth in the world in terms of production and third in terms of exports in the sector in question.
In 2011, the output value of the Italian machine tools, robots and automation sector increased by 13.5 percent to €4.762 billion, while the export revenues of the sector increased by 25.2 percent to €3.26 billion, both year on year.
Early forecasts for 2012 indicate that output will grow by 4.9 percent, while exports are poised to rise by 12.3 percent, year on year.
In the first quarter this year, the main export market for Italian machine tools and robots was China, followed by the US, Germany, India, Russia and France.