The 40th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics report showed the continued investment by China in new machinery, despite the slower pace of growth in its apparel and textile manufacturing in recent years.
The report, produced by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation, showed that deliveries of new short-staple spindles, long-staple spindles and open-end rotors increased 21 percent, 46 percent 24 percent, respectively, in 2017 from 2016.
The report revealed that shipments of new short-staple spindles increased for the first time since 2013. About 95 percent of the new short-staple spindles were shipped to Asia, with shipments rising nearly 24 percent year-on-year. Shipments to China, the world’s largest investor of short-staple spindles, increased 34 percent, with deliveries to Bangladesh and Vietnam decreasing 33 percent and 39 percent, respectively. Shipments to Indonesia grew 135 percent. The six largest investors in the short-staple segment in 2017 where China, India, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Global shipments of long-staple wool spindles rose 46 percent, as deliveries to Iran jumped 445 to about 59,000 spindles in 2017. The majority (68 percent) of long-staple spindles were shipped to China, while 30 percent went to Europe.
Shipments of open-end rotors rose 24 percent, with about 85 percent destined for Asia, a 15 percent increase over 2016. China, the world’s largest investor in open-end rotors, increased its investments by just 6 percent in 2017, as Iran, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Japan all posted strong increases compared to 2016. The world’s second and third largest investors in 2016 were Turkey and India, respectively.
Shipments of new draw-texturing spindles and shuttle-less looms increased 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, while deliveries of new electronic flat knitting machines and finishing machines each rose by 44 percent year-on-year. In contrast, deliveries of circular knitting machines were basically flat and finishing machines fell 2 percent.
The 2017 survey was compiled in cooperation with more than 200 textile machinery manufacturers representing a comprehensive measure of world production, ITMF said.
Global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles, mainly used for polyamide filaments, fell 87 percent, while double heater draw-texturing spindles, mainly used for polyester filaments, saw global shipments increase 27 percent, reversing a downward trend. Asia’s share of worldwide shipments was 90 percent, as China remained the largest investor, accounting for 66 percent of global shipments.