Woodworking machinery: Italian exports grow

World trade in woodworking machinery¹ shows a clear easing of the contraction phase that characterized the 2022-2025 period during the first seven months of 2026. However, the picture remains differentiated: on the supply side, Italy has returned to growth, while China and Germany remain broadly stable; on the demand side, the United States show signs of stabilization, India is accelerating, while China is experiencing a sharp contraction.

The picture emerging from ExportPlanning data updated to July 2026 therefore points to a sector that remains weak overall, but is undergoing significant shifts across countries and markets. In this scenario, timely monitoring of international trade flows is particularly relevant for identifying markets in the recovery phase and opportunities to strengthen competitive positioning.

World trade slows its decline

Between 2022 and 2025, international trade in woodworking machinery recorded an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of -5.3%, reflecting the progressive slowdown in investment following the post-pandemic peak.

The first seven months of 2026 nevertheless show an easing of the negative trend. World exports were down 2.4% year-on-year compared with the same period of 2025.

This does not yet represent a genuine recovery, but rather a phase of stabilization, within which different trends are emerging among the leading exporting countries.

Italy returns to growth, while China and Germany slow down

Between 2022 and 2025, almost all major exporters recorded a contraction in international sales. In the January-July 2026 period, however, the picture appears more polarized.

Italy, the third-largest exporter of woodworking machinery in 2025, represents the main point of discontinuity. After recording an average annual contraction of 6.1% between 2022 and 2025, Italian exports, which reached a value of €1,374 million in 2025, grew by 4.0% in the first seven months of 2026.

Italy's performance also stands out compared with its two main competitors. China, the world's leading exporter with €2,503 million in exports in 2025, recorded a decline of 3.4%, broadly in line with the negative CAGR of the previous three-year period (-3.2%). Germany, the second-largest exporter by value, with €2,278 million in exports in 2025, remained broadly stable, with a variation of -0.1%, a significant improvement compared with the average annual decline of 2.4% recorded between 2022 and 2025.

Among the smaller exporters, strong accelerations were recorded by Finland (+31.7%), Japan (+17.6%) and Denmark (+15.4%). In the opposite direction, exports from Taiwan (-20.3%) continued to contract sharply, following a CAGR of -17.2% in the previous three-year period. Exports also declined in Turkey (-18.0%), Slovenia (-10.1%) and Austria (-4.8%).

Table 1 - Woodworking machinery - Performance of the leading exporting countries
(current values)

The Italian figure deserves particular attention. In a world market that is still in negative territory, the growth in Italian exports represents a gain in competitive positioning compared with its two main competitors, whose exports are either stable or declining compared with January-July 2025.

This trend therefore suggests an improvement in Italy's relative position, although the coming months will be needed to determine whether this marks the beginning of a more structural recovery.

Imports: India accelerates,
while the United States stabilize

On the destination-market side as well, the first seven months of 2026 reveal a significant reshuffling of trade flows.

The United States remain by far the world's leading market. Following a period of sharp contraction, characterized by a CAGR of -10.0% between 2022 and 2025, US demand remained broadly stable, with a variation of +0.1% in the first seven months of 2026.

In Europe, Germany, the world's second-largest market with €630 million in imports in 2025, recorded a moderate decline of -2.2%.

More favorable signals came from the United Kingdom (+13.5%), Italy (+4.2%) and Poland (+3.2%), which reversed the negative or weak trends observed in the previous period.

The most dynamic market, however, is India, where imports grew by 25.6% in the first seven months of 2026. With €229 million in imports in 2025, the Indian market had already shown substantial resilience in the previous three-year period, with a CAGR of +0.7%.

Table 2 - Woodworking machinery - Performance of the leading importing countries
(current values)

China's market loses ground

Some of the major markets are also experiencing a contraction compared with the same period of 2025.

The most striking case is China, which imported €216 million worth of woodworking machinery in 2025. In the first seven months of 2026, imports plunged by 40.7%, signaling a sharp downsizing of demand. Significant contractions were also recorded in Canada (-21.6%) and France (-20.9%).

Outside the top ten markets, significant declines were also recorded in Indonesia (-39.0%) and Switzerland (-29.1%).

Thailand is also showing signs of a slowdown: after exceptionally strong average annual growth of 54.8% between 2022 and 2025, imports declined by 8.0% in the first seven months of 2026.

The global market therefore appears increasingly differentiated: the stabilization of some major markets and the strong growth of India are offset by areas where demand is still contracting.

Conclusions

A comparison between the dynamics of the 2022-2025 period and those of the first seven months of 2026 suggests that world trade in woodworking machinery is gradually emerging from the most intense phase of contraction, although it has not yet entered a generalized recovery phase.

On the supply side, the growth in Italian exports, alongside the weakness of China and Germany, represents a positive signal for the competitiveness of Italian companies. On the demand side, the stabilization of the United States, the acceleration of India and the recovery of the United Kingdom and Poland coexist with the sharp decline in China and the weakness of Canada and France.

For Italian manufacturers, it is therefore particularly important to identify in a timely manner where growing demand flows are concentrating and which competitors are benefiting most from these trends.

The strong differences across countries make access to up-to-date information on the evolution of trade flows particularly important. Continuously monitoring exports and imports makes it possible to identify expanding markets more quickly, changes in the competitive positioning of leading suppliers, and signs of potential acceleration or slowdown in demand.

In this context, ExportPlanning offers the Monthly Market Data service, an on-demand solution that can be customized by customs codes and markets of interest, designed to support the analysis of commercial opportunities and competitive dynamics.

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