Great Graphic: Appliance Production and Italy's Decline

This Great Graphic is part of a larger study by Euromonitor International by Lorenza Della-Santa.  It looks the number of appliances being produced in a select number of European countries in 2007 (dark bar) and 2012 (light bar).

Italy previously was the world's third largest appliance manufacturer.  Last year it was in ninth place.  Until the crisis, the industry was the second largest employer after the auto sector.  In the 2007-2012 period, major appliance production in Italy fell, according to Della-Santa's research, by 3.6 mln units annually for a total of 18 mln units.  Of these 8 mln were large cooking appliances.  

Turkey and Poland have picked up much of the slack.  Poland's output doubled.  In part then this fits into the larger theme of the integration of central and eastern Europe into the global supply chains.  It is partly about cheaper labor for assembly work. It also a part of broader competitive issues.  It is worth considering the multiplier effects, such as where to locate R&D for such products?  Close to production?

Della-Santa notes that the US appliance production fell by 12 mln units over the same period, roughly a 25% decline.  It is still second behind China.  Most of US production is consumed domestically, making it less dependent on the relative health of trading partners.