“Many companies find themselves having to reduce production levels and for some sectors the hypothesis of an interruption is becoming more and more consistent, with negative effects on the manufacturing sector, given the prominent position of chemicals for almost all the supply chains. We have several signals, especially from companies that have basic chemical productions, such as ammonia, sulfuric acid, chlorine soda, or that use a lot of energy, such as technical gases, fertilizers, abrasives, and ceramic dyes. For many, operating in these conditions means not even reaching the coverage of variable costs: this means that the plants must be stopped ». If to say it is the president of Federchimica, Paolo Lamberti, then it means that in this rentrée we are approaching a point of no return and urgent interventions are needed.
The crisis of the third chemical producer in Europe
Our country is the third largest chemical producer in Europe, with a 10% share, and the tenth in the world, with a production value of 56 billion. The sector, very committed to the ecological transition, has always played a leading role in the trends and dynamics of manufacturing because «it is a technological infrastructure – continues Lamberti -. Over 70% of chemical products are in fact used in all industrial sectors and in construction, but its use is also relevant in services, as well as in final consumption. Almost all the supply chains would be heavily affected by a slowdown in chemicals, dictated by unsustainable energy costs or by the rationing of supply ».
The president of Federchimica still relies on two examples to explain: «About 10% of chemical products are destined for the agri-food chain and are essential to guarantee adequate conditions in terms of yield, quality and conservation of food. The dramatic situation of a shortage of masks and vaccines, experienced in the first phase of the Covid emergency, is likely to repeat itself involving multiple applications “. All this to say that “the problem of Italian industry, as represented by the president of Confindustria Carlo Bonomi, is a problem of national security, and chemistry, being upstream, makes a big contribution in securing the system”, Lamberti points out.
The urgency of certainties for the industry
The need for certainties, vital for industry, in this sector also emerges in industrial relations, as shown by the renewal of the national collective bargaining agreement closed in advance of its expiry: on the one hand it gave guarantees to companies, on the other to workers who approved it with 93% of votes. Despite these efforts, the back to school, this year, sees everyone in a situation in which «the Ukrainian conflict has greatly exacerbated a pre-existing trend towards higher prices for oil and, to an unprecedented extent, natural gas, with significant repercussions also on electricity. While oil prices are similar all over the world, tensions over natural gas are concentrated in Europe ”, interprets Lamberti.
The energy crisis has a double impact on the chemical industry because fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, represent not only energy sources, but also raw materials for basic and intermediate production. «Chemistry is the first industrial sector for gas consumption and the second for electricity consumption – underlines Lamberti -. Before the current energy shock, also considering its use as a raw material, the cost of energy had an impact on the value of production equal to 11%, the highest in the industrial panorama ». This is a figure on which the multiplier effect of the cost of gas weighs today, with much higher peaks in some productions. Incidence well above 2% on costs on turnover, indicated as a threshold by the energy-intensive decrees.