In the fourth quarter of 2011, the index of Italian machine tool orders worked out by the Studies Department of UCIMU-Sistemi per Produrre from industry survey results fell 12.4% relative to the same period in 2010, and registered an absolute value of 95.1. This figure is, however, among the highest recorded in the past three years. Despite the end-of-year slowdown, the 2011 average index of orders for the…