In 2023, global shipments of new short-staple and long-staple spindles rose by +2% and +5%, respectively, and dropped by -17% for open-end rotors (year-on-year). Deliveries of draw-texturing spindles decreased by -28% while the number of shipped shuttle-less looms rose by +52%. Shipments of large circular knitting machines grew by +17% and shipped flat knitting machines registered a 60%-increase. The sum of all deliveries in the finishing segment remained stable on average.
These are the main results of the 46th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS) just released by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF). The report covers six segments of textile machinery, namely spinning, draw-texturing, weaving, large circular knitting, flat knitting, and finishing. A summary of the findings for each category is presented below. The 2023 survey has been compiled in cooperation with more than 200 textile machinery manufacturers representing a comprehensive measure of world production.
Spinning Machinery
The total number of shipped short-staple spindles increased by 155 thousand units in 2023 to a level of 9.78 million. Most of the new shipments went to Asia & Oceania (85%) where deliveries have been stable compared to 2022 (+0.1%). Shipment to Europe (incl. Türkiye) and North and Central America decreased by -13% and -27%, respectively, and increased in Africa (+120% to 475 thousand) and South America (+140% to 81 thousand). 85% of shipments to Africa went to Egypt. The six largest investors in the short-staple segment were China, India, Türkiye, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Egypt.
1 million open-end rotors were shipped worldwide in 2023. This represents about 200 thousand units less than recorded in 2022. 85% of global shipments went to Asia & Oceania where deliveries decreased by -19% to 860 thousand. China, India, and Türkiye were the world’s 3 largest investors in rotors and saw investments drop by -4%, -24% and -20%, respectively. Deliveries decreased in all major destination countries except for Brazil and Mexico, the 5th and 7th largest destinations in 2023, where shipment rose by +20% and +46% compared to 2022.
Global shipments of long-staple (wool) spindles increased to 98 thousand unit in 2023 (+5%). This positive effect was driven by a rise in deliveries to Europe (incl. Türkiye) and South America where 25 and 1.6 thousand units were shipped, respectively. 31% of total deliveries were shipped to China, 29% to Türkiye, and 19% to Iran.
Texturing Machinery
Global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles (mainly used for polyamide filaments) decreased by -33% from nearly 65 thousand units in 2022 to 43 thousand units in 2023. With a share of 97%, Asia & Oceania remained the strongest destination for single heater draw-texturing spindles in 2023. China, Türkiye, and India were the 3 main investors in this segment with shares of global deliveries of 90%, 2,6%, and 2,3%, respectively.
In the category of double heater draw-texturing spindles (mainly used for polyester filaments), global shipments decreased by -27% to a level of 550 thousand spindles. Asia’s share of worldwide shipments increased to 97% and China continued to be the world’s largest investor, accounting for 91% of global shipments.
Weaving Machinery
In 2023, global shipments of shuttle-less looms increased by +52% to 171 thousand units. Deliveries in the categories “air-jet” and “water-jet” grew by 34% and +96% to 53 and 92 thousand looms, respectively. The number of “rapier and projectile” looms rose by +0.1% to 27 thousand units. The main destination for shuttle-less looms was Asia & Oceania with 96% of worldwide deliveries. 97%, 85%, and 99% of global air-jet, rapier/projectile, and water-jet looms were shipped to the region, respectively. The main investor for air-jet and water-jet looms was China. The main investor for rapier-and-projectile looms was India with 10 thousand units (despite a – 8% decrease compared to 2022).
Circular & Flat Knitting Machinery
Global shipments of large circular knitting machines grew by +17% to 33 thousand units in 2023. The region Asia & Oceania was the world’s leading investor in this category with 86% of global shipments. China was the favored destination with 63% of all deliveries (18’476 units), an increase of +86% compared to 2022. India and Türkiye ranked second and third destinations with 4’195 and 1’367 shipped units, respectively.
The number of shipped electronic flat knitting machines increased by +61% to 177 thousand machines in 2023. The growth was driven by Asia & Oceania which received 92% of world shipments. Shipments to other regions decreased except for Europe (incl. Türkiye), where 650 units were delivered. China remained the world’s largest investor with a +82%-share of total shipments.
Finishing Machinery
In the “fabrics continuous” segment, the number of shipped stenters increased by +3% from 1’780 units in 2022 to 1’833 units in 2023. This number includes an estimate for the total number of stenters shipped by companies which have not participated to the ITMF survey. Participating companies reported mixed results for all other machines in this category (between a decrease of -42% for relax dryers/tumblers and an increase of +103% for bleaching-line). In the “fabrics discontinuous” segment, the number of “jigger dyeing / beam dyeing” and “air jet dyeing” shipped in 2023 dropped by -8% and -0.3% to 715 and 772 units, respectively. Deliveries in the categories “overflow dyeing” rose by +4.2% to 2’122 units.
