Global shipments of spinning, texturing, weaving, knitting and finishing machines increased sharply last year compared to 2020, the 44th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics report from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation revealed.
Deliveries of new short-staple spindles, open-end rotors and long-staple spindles increased 110 percent, 65 percent and 44 percent, respectively, while the number of shipped draw-texturing spindles surged 177 percent and deliveries of shuttle-less looms grew 32 percent. Shipments of large circular machines rose 30 percent and shipped flat knitting machines registered 109 percent growth. The sum of all deliveries in the finishing segment were up 52 percent.
The 2021 survey was compiled in cooperation with more than 200 textile machinery manufacturers representing a comprehensive measure of world production.
In spinning machinery, the number of shipped short-staple spindles increased about 4 million units in 2021 to 7.61 million. Most of the new short-staple spindles were shipped to the Asia & Oceania region, where deliveries increased 115 percent. The six largest investors in the short-staple segment were China, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh.
An estimated 695,000 open-end rotors were shipped worldwide in 2021. This represents 273,000 additional units compared to 2020, with 83 percent of global shipments going to Asia & Oceania, where deliveries increased 65 percent to 580,000 rotors. China, Turkey and Pakistan were the world’s three largest investors in open-end rotors.
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Global shipments of long-staple (wool) spindles increased to about 31,600 last year from about 22,000 in 2020, driven by a rise in deliveries to Asia & Oceania.
In texturing machinery, global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles mainly used for polyamide filaments increased 365 percent to 75,000 in 2021. With a share of 94 percent, Asia & Oceania was the strongest destination.
In the category of double heater draw-texturing spindles mainly used for polyester filaments, global shipments increased 167 percent to a level of 870,000 spindles. China remained the largest investor, accounting for 92 percent of global shipments.
In weaving machinery, worldwide shipments of shuttle-less looms increased 32 percent to 148,000 units. The main destination for shuttle-less looms in 2021 was Asia & Oceania.
Global shipments of large circular knitting machines grew 29 percent to 39,129 units in 2021. The region Asia & Oceania was the world’s leading investor in this category, with China was the favored destination.
The segment of electronic flat knitting machines increased 109 percent to around 95,000 machines. Asia & Oceania was the main destination for these machines and China remained the world’s largest investor.