Anie Aice: a difficult time for the cable manufacturing sector

Cable companies sound the alarm: rising raw material costs, high energy costs, factory staff shortages due to health emergencies are putting a strain on the industry

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Anie Aice cables pixabay

The rise in raw material prices (metal and plastic) and the soaring price of gas (+723% in December compared to the pre-crisis period), which quickly spilled over into the cost of electricity in Italy, are worrying member companies of Anie Aice. Anie Aice, manufacturers of power cables and accessories, communication cables and electrical winding wires.

The increases are causing companies procurement problems and negatively affecting production, packaging and transport costs. The increase in raw material prices is general and widespread, involving energy goods first and foremost (+49% annual increase in oil in December), but also the main metals used as production inputs in industrial processes (including +23% increase in copper in December; +34% for aluminium). But plastics also increased, with the price of PVC rising 72% and that of polyethylene 79%. Against a backdrop of strong demand, tensions also continued to exist over the availability of PVC at European level, with weak stocks as demand in December 2021 was stronger than expected.

"Italian cable companies have so far only been able to transfer part of the price increases to the finished product ," said Carlo Scarlata, President of Anie Aice, "but this situation has now become unsustainable. The annual monthly increase in the price of glass (close to 20% in December), the various plastics (+75% with peaks of over 90% for some materials) and the rise in energy costs are having a heavy impact on the production costs of cables in general and communications cables (general communications cables, special coaxial cables, data cables for LAN networks, fibre optic cables). In fact, for fibre optic cable - used for the "Ultra Broadband" project for the digitalisation of the country - the production cost has increased by +30% compared to 2021. In addition to the increase in costs, there is also a greater burden due to theshortage of personnel in the factory as a result of the health emergency, as the cable business uses specialised labour that is not easily interchangeable. In addition, there are procurement difficulties throughout the industry. Some upstream suppliers of cable manufacturers have already declared that they will stop production, as it is no longer profitable at current costs.

Scarlata also launches an appeal: "We ask for understandingfrom all the players in the sector, in particularthe telecommunications operatorsfor the communication cables sector and the distributors of electrical material for industrial cables, for the delays they are experiencing in the delivery of material, and we also ask for greater attention from the Government for our sector".


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