On the whole the business situation in the global textile industry deteriorated further in November 2022. So says the ITMF.
At the same time, global business expectations in six months’ time remained in negative territory but did not get gloomier. The indicators for order intake, order backlog, and capacity utilisation rate dropped globally. The business situation in the three Asian regions and Europe remains especially poor. In north andcentral America the business situation has improved markedly.
Except for the textile machinery segment that still benefits on an average from a long order backlog, all other segments found themselves in negative business situations, especially fiber producers and spinners. Global business expectations have remained negative but have stabilized since July 2022. Expectations have improved significantly in South Asia and Europe. Business expectations in all segments remain in negative territory with four out of seven recording improvements.
Order intake weak except north and central America
Order intake nosedived in November, in line with the weaker business situation and weaker demand, currently the biggest concern for the global textile value chain. Only companies in north and central America registered on average a good order intake, while all other regions were faced with an unsatisfactory order situation. Except for southeast Asia and north and central America order backlog fell. The only segments where order backlog increased were the downstream segments of garments and home textiles. Capacity utilization rate dropped in all regions in November 2022. It only increased in the textile machinery segment but fell otherwise.
Demand reduction cause of concern
Weakening demand is by far the biggest concern in the global textile industry, followed by the root causes of demand reduction, namely high energy and raw material prices which lead to high inflation rates. The good news is that logistical costs are not much of a concern anymore. Concerns about geopolitics on the other hand have increased again in the past two months.
