Italy 'overtaken by Brazil in manufacturing' - update 2

(ANSA) - Rome, June 4 - Italy has been overtaken by Brazil and dropped from seventh to eighth place in its world manufacturing rankings after output fell by 25.5% in the 2000-2013 period, according to a report released Wednesday by the study centre of industrial employers' confederation Confindustria. The report said that in the same period global manufacturing output increased 36% in volume terms. Confindustria said Italy was "running against the trend" and "doing worse where others are getting better" because of "domestic faults".
    The report said there had been a "large-scale erosion of the productive base" in Italy, with over 100,000 factories closing and almost a million jobs lost between 2001 and 2011.
    It added that Italy, which is struggling to recover from its longest postwar recession, lost another 160,000 jobs and 20,000 firms in the sector in the 2011-2013 period.
    While Italy dropped one place in Confindustria's manufacturing rankings with respect to its 2013 report, the country has fallen from fifth place in six years, the report noted.
    The report said many factors were behind Italy's fall in the rankings, including a drop in domestic demand, difficulties for firms to obtain credit and increases in labour costs without productivity rises.
    It added that European Union limitations, including "restrictive fiscal policies... certainly don't help". The report also said that the appreciation of the euro, especially with respect to the currencies of many emerging economies, held back exports.
    The Confindustria manufacturing ranking is headed by China, followed by the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea and India, with Brazil and Italy behind them.