Major economic indicators in the textile machinery industry fell sharply in the first quarter.
Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy has suffered a severe blow. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a sharp contraction of 3% in the global economy in 2020. Under this environment, the textile machinery industry faces enormous challenges. Statistical data shows that the major economic indicators of China's textile machinery industry in the first quarter all showed a significant downward trend, and textile machinery exports and imports also decreased to varying degrees.
Overall, textile machinery companies generally had insufficient operating capacity in the first quarter of this year, and product production and delivery were restricted. However, from the perspective of various sub-sectors, the epidemic has led to a substantial increase in demand for non-woven textiles in the medical and health protection field, driving a significant increase in orders for chemical fiber machinery and non-woven fabric machinery related equipment. At the same time, air-jet vortex spinning equipment in spinning machinery remains popular, and multi-axial warp knitting machines in knitting machinery benefit from the resumption of work and production of infrastructure projects in various places, with increased downstream market demand and year-on-year sales growth, becoming a highlight in the sluggish market.
Currently, there is considerable uncertainty in global economic development. From a global perspective, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate the pace of global textile industry transfer and structural adjustment. The adjustment process of the domestic textile machinery market will continue, and the recovery of the international textile machinery market will also be subject to the impact of the global epidemic. In short, except for some sub-sectors, the textile machinery industry as a whole faces insufficient domestic and international market demand in 2020, and the development of enterprises faces challenges.
However, overall, the fundamental positive aspects of China's long-term economic development remain unchanged, and the impact of the epidemic is temporary. In terms of supporting enterprises, stabilizing employment, and expanding domestic demand, various departments and localities have also successively introduced a series of policy measures, and these policies are being gradually implemented. In the face of difficulties, industry enterprises should establish confidence in development, plan development goals, accumulate strength, and strive to resolve the impact of various adverse factors, so as to prepare for the gradual recovery of the industry.
Spinning Machinery: Air-jet Vortex Spinning Remains Popular
According to statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association on key enterprises, sales of cotton spinning fine-spinning machines decreased by 60% year-on-year in the first quarter, sales of rotor spinning machines decreased by 57.5% year-on-year, and the sales volume of combing machines, roving machines, and carding machines all decreased by more than 50%.
Operational Analysis ▼
Affected by the sudden epidemic, the domestic and international market demand for spinning machinery was sluggish, orders fell significantly, and enterprises delayed starting operations. From the statistical data in the first quarter of 2020, it can be seen that the overall operation of spinning machinery showed a significant downward trend, and the sales volume of various main machines and special parts and equipment all decreased to varying degrees. Among them, the decline in the proportion of carding machines is relatively low, mainly because the export volume has increased, and the increase in the import volume of air-jet vortex spinning equipment has driven the demand for pre-spinning equipment, also showing that the domestic demand for air-jet vortex spinning remains popular.
It is expected that the operating environment of downstream industries in the country will gradually improve in the second quarter, but the spread of the overseas epidemic will continue to affect the export of spinning machinery.
Weaving Machinery: Overall Downward Pressure Increases
According to statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association on key enterprises, sales of rapier looms decreased by 31.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, sales of water-jet looms decreased by 44% year-on-year, and sales of air-jet looms decreased by 31.7% year-on-year.
Operational Analysis ▼
From January to March 2020, affected by the Spring Festival holiday and the epidemic, although weaving machinery companies actively overcame the impact of factors such as resumption of work and production and economic downturn, the downward pressure on sales in the first quarter increased significantly. From the middle and late February, with the gradual resumption of work of logistics, raw materials, supporting enterprises, etc., supply capacity steadily recovered, the industrial chain operation continued to improve, and weaving machinery companies resumed work and production in an orderly manner. Sales orders are in the recovery stage, and most companies mainly produce orders before the festival; from the middle and late March, with the outbreak of the epidemic abroad, affected by the foreign trade situation, enterprises have significantly slowed down production. According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, indicators such as the output and output value of cotton textiles, filament weaving, and home textiles have all decreased significantly, and under this influence, the sales volume of rapier looms, air-jet looms, and water-jet looms have shown a significant downward trend.
In the second quarter, weaving machinery companies should pay attention to corporate cash flow, broaden product adaptability, and at the same time pay attention to the impact of uncertainties such as the downstream resumption rate and the international environment.
Knitting Machinery: Positive Outlook for Multi-axial Warp Knitting Machines
In the first quarter of 2020, affected by the epidemic, the overall operation of the three major categories of knitting machinery, namely flat knitting machines, circular knitting machines, and warp knitting machines, was significantly impacted. According to statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association on key enterprises, sales of flat knitting machines decreased by 68% year-on-year in the first quarter, sales of circular knitting machines decreased by 45% year-on-year, and sales of warp knitting machines decreased by 22.2% year-on-year.
Operational Analysis ▼
The production and sales volume of the flat knitting machine market showed a large decline in the first quarter. On the one hand, during the period when the epidemic was severe in China just after the Spring Festival, the overall industry of flat knitting machines had great difficulties in resuming work, and it was difficult to increase production; on the other hand, the subsequent global epidemic outbreak led to a sharp reduction in overseas orders. The circular knitting machine industry showed an overall downward trend in the first quarter, with circular knitting machine companies concentrating on producing orders before the year, mainly ordinary single- and double-sided circular knitting machines, and sales have declined. Models such as sweatshirt machines have relatively high popularity in the first quarter. In addition, before the outbreak of the overseas epidemic, the overseas markets of circular knitting machines in Vietnam, India, and other countries were also impacted by the decline in unit prices.
The warp knitting machine industry continued its overall downward trend in the first quarter. Except for multi-axial warp knitting machines, the sales volume of other sub-machine types decreased. Affected by the downstream market, the lace machine market continued its sluggish performance over the past three years, with sales volume and sales amount continuing to decline. Double-needle bed warp knitting machines benefited from the wide application of their products, and sales were relatively stable, with high-value-added double-needle bed warp knitting machines being more favored by users. After two years of rapid development, the high-speed warp knitting machine market is becoming saturated, and production and sales have declined. Multi-axial warp knitting machines benefited from the resumption of work and production of infrastructure projects in various places, increased downstream market demand, a positive outlook, and year-on-year sales growth.
It is expected that the operating pressure on the flat knitting machine industry will continue to increase, the circular knitting machine industry will focus on major domestic markets such as Guangdong Foshan, and the warp knitting machine industry will focus more on industrial applications.
Dyeing and Finishing Machinery: Domestic and Foreign Trade Orders Both Decline
In the first quarter, the cumulative sales of rotary screen printing machines by key sampled enterprises of the China Textile Machinery Association decreased by 53% year-on-year, the sales of flat screen printing machines decreased by 50% year-on-year, the sales of digital printing machines decreased by 23.5% year-on-year, the sales of dyeing machines decreased by 35.8% year-on-year, and the sales of stenter machines decreased by 31.4% year-on-year.
Operational Analysis ▼
The dyeing and finishing machinery industry has experienced a double decline in domestic and foreign trade orders due to reduced user industry orders and insufficient operating capacity. In the first quarter, most orders were accumulated from last year and before the outbreak of the domestic epidemic in January, and orders fell sharply in February. In addition, due to factors such as delayed delivery and logistics by downstream user enterprises, equipment enterprises also face risks such as inventory backlog and capital shortages. For the future market situation, most enterprises are not optimistic about the market situation in the second quarter.
Chemical Fiber Machinery: Increased Orders for Some Products
According to incomplete statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association, the output of filament spinning machines increased by 53% in the first quarter, while the output of high-speed texturing machines decreased by 46.2% year-on-year, and the output of polyester staple fiber complete sets of equipment saw a slight increase compared to the same period last year.
Operational Analysis ▼
In the first quarter of 2020, polyester and nylon filament spinning machines continued the orders from last year, with output increasing year-on-year, while the output of high-speed texturing machines decreased significantly. The newly added production capacity of polyester staple fiber equipment increased slightly year-on-year. Due to factors such as the Spring Festival holiday and the COVID-19 epidemic, chemical fiber equipment companies were unable to resume normal production and operation, and also faced problems such as limited transportation and logistics, declining market demand, and tight funds. In response to the epidemic and prevention needs, some chemical fiber machinery and equipment manufacturing enterprises adjusted their product directions and actively switched production to melt-blown complete sets of equipment, medical protective clothing binding machines, and fully automatic mask machines, with a significant increase in the production and sales of melt-blown spinnerets and spinnerets.
Non-woven fabric machinery: Anti-epidemic related equipment is selling well
According to incomplete statistics from the China Textile Machinery Association on key enterprises, the production and sales volume of non-woven fabric machinery in the first quarter of 2020 increased significantly compared with the same period last year. The production and sales volume of complete sets of equipment such as spunbond, meltblown, and spunbond-meltblown composite increased significantly. The sales volume of needle-punched and hydro-entangled lines remained basically the same as the same period last year. From the perspective of use, the medical and health protection field is the main downstream market. The increase in demand and price of meltblown fabric and spunbond fabric has led to a significant increase in orders for related equipment.
Operational Analysis ▼
In addition to bringing a large number of orders to some related equipment companies, the epidemic has also exposed some deep-seated problems in the industry: key high-end accessories still heavily rely on imports, the level of domestic wide-width meltblown spinnerets still has a gap compared with similar foreign products, the supply capacity of high-end meltblown spinnerets is significantly insufficient, and relevant industry standards urgently need to be revised and formulated.
According to information from downstream roll material finishing equipment enterprises, the delivery volume of spunbond, meltblown, and spunbond-meltblown composite production lines is expected to double this year. Conservatively estimated, there will be more than 600 production lines with a width of more than 1.6 meters. After a large number of meltblown production lines are put into the market, the gap in after-sales service for user enterprises will also gradually emerge. How to ensure the steady and healthy development of the industry after the epidemic improves and economic life returns to normal is an important issue that all equipment enterprises will face.
Leaders from Xiamen C&D Group visited Tongzhou for investigation and guidance
On March 3, Wang Yongqing, Vice President of Xiamen CNOOC Group, visited Tongzhou Group for investigation and guidance. Wei Gangmin, Chairman of our company; Huang Hongyu, President; Li Tao, Vice President; and Zhang Zhiyan, Director of the General Office, met with and participated in a symposium.
Tongzhou Cotton Market Brief, Week 1 of March 2025
1) This week's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC) in China boosted market expectations for steady growth. In February, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 50.2%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, indicating a significant improvement in the manufacturing sector.
In 2024, China's dyeing industry saw rapid export growth to ASEAN and RCEP member countries, exceeding the overall export growth rate. However, this growth was accompanied by a decline in prices. From January to December, China's exports of eight major dyeing products to ASEAN totaled 7.908 billion meters, a year-on-year increase of 12.14%, 4.61 percentage points higher than the overall export growth rate, accounting for 23.58% of total exports. The average export price was US\$1.19 per meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.75%, 0.64 percentage points lower than the overall decline. Exports to RCEP member countries totaled 8.431 billion meters, a year-on-year increase of 11.35%, 3.82 percentage points higher than the overall export growth rate. The average export price was US\$1.17 per meter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.79%, 0.60 percentage points lower than the overall decline.
On February 28, Mr. Huang Hongyu, President of our company, was invited to attend the 2025 Zhangjiagang Cotton Industry Development Conference and, as a guest speaker at the "Xiangshan Roundtable," shared his views on the cotton market and trading opportunities.
Henan Tongzhou Cotton Industry Co., Ltd.
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