Rome – Italy’s industrial sector posted lower sales in August than in July. According to data released Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (Istat), seasonally adjusted revenue fell by 0.9 percent. Sales volume declined much more sharply, by 3.5 percent.
A comparison with August 2025 also shows why rising revenue alone is not an indication of increased sales volume. On a calendar-adjusted basis, revenue increased by 4.2 percent over the course of a year, while sales volume decreased by 2.9 percent. The figures distinguish between the value of sales in euros and their trend adjusted for price effects.
Industrial Sales: Domestic Sales Fall More Sharply
Business performance was particularly weak in the Italian market, where sales volume was down 5.5 percent from the same month a year ago. Abroad, however, industrial companies sold 1.7 percent more in terms of volume.
In the three-month comparison from June to August, industrial revenues remained unchanged compared with the previous three months. Volume declined during this period. In the services sector, sales rose slightly in August compared with July, although the price-adjusted trend was negative there as well. The survey measures corporate sales; it is not a direct statistic on household consumer spending.
