Latest International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS) report from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) shows, shipments in some of the textile machinery segments experienced declines in 2015. Deliveries of new short-staple spindles for example fell by nearly 8 per cent from 2014 to 2015. Shipped long-staple spindles and open-end rotors meanwhile decreased by 61 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. The number of shipped draw-texturing spindles fell by 26 per cent and shipments for new circular knitting machines by 6 per cent year-on-year. By contrast, deliveries of shuttle-less looms increased by 14 per cent in 2015 and shipments of flat-knitting machines rose by a massive 52 per cent.

ITMSS report covers six segments of textile machinery, namely spinning, draw-texturing, weaving, large diameter circular knitting, flat knitting and finishing. The 2015 survey was compiled in cooperation with over 140 textile machinery manufacturers, representing a comprehensive measure of world production. According to the ITMF, this number does not include the numerous Chinese companies that are represented by the so called ‘District’. Therefore, the amount of participating companies is likely to be around 200.