Confindustria Ceramica

Raw materials

Every year more than 20 million tonnes of freight (both raw materials and finished products) are transported to or from the manufacturing area. It has been calculated that between 4,000 and 6,000 trucks enter and leave the area every day, without counting those used for small journeys between companies located in the area.

One of the main reasons why demand for transport within the Emilia-Romagna region’s ceramic cluster area has risen over the past twenty years is the diversification of demand for raw materials. The new product types (from white body single firing to porcelain tile) have driven increased demand for feldspar, clay and sand. Although they were easy to procure in the Modena and Reggio Emilia area up until the 1970s, raw materials are now imported from other parts of Italy and abroad. Clay from Germany and France is transported almost entirely by rail.

Clay from the Ukraine, feldspar from Turkey and sand from Sardinia are instead shipped by sea, mainly transiting through the ports of Livorno and Ravenna. Raw materials from other parts of Italy (Sardinia, Piedmont, Calabria and Tuscany) are transported by road.