According to the 42th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS) released by ITMF, global shipments of new short-staple spindles, open-end rotors and long-staple spindles declined 20 per cent, 20 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively in 2019 compared to the previous year. The survey was compiled in cooperation with more than 200 textile machinery manufacturers representing a comprehensive measure of world production.

Shipments of draw-texturing spindles declined 4.5 per cent while delivery of shuttleless looms shrunk 0.5 per cent. Similarly, shipments of large circular machines contracted by 1.2 per cent while that of flat knitting machines fell by 40 per cent. Deliveries in the finishing segment also dropped 2 per cent on average.

The total number of shipped short-staple spindles decreased by about 1.7 million units in 2019 to a level of 6.96 million. Most of the new short-staple spindles (92 per cent) were shipped to Asia & Oceania where delivery decreased by 20 per cent. While levels stayed relatively small, Africa and South America saw shipments increasing by 150 per cent and 120 per cent respectively. The six largest investors in the short-staple segment were China, India, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles increased 12 per cent to 25'500 in 2019. With a share of 88 per cent, Asia & Oceania were the strongest destinations for single heater draw texturing spindles. China and Chinese Taipei were the main investors in this segment with a share of 64 per cent and 12 per cent of global deliveries respectively.