The May Global Textile Survey released by the International Textile Federation (ITMF) shows that the global textile business is in a continuing state of stagnation. In this survey, more companies said that the current business is "relatively satisfied", so the global textile business situation has improved slightly. On the other hand, textile business expectations have not improved for a year, indicating that the textile industry is only optimistic rather than substantial improvement. At present, the lack of orders and high costs are affecting profits throughout the textile supply chain.

The survey shows a slight improvement in the balance of good and poor new orders, and an upward trend in expectations for orders over the next six months. Since the summer of 2023, the backlog of orders has been fluctuating around 2 months, increasing slightly from 1.9 months in March 2024 to 2.1 months in May, but it does not yet indicate that the order volume is on the rise. According to the survey, the average opening rate of global textile companies declined from a peak of 80% at the end of 2021 to a slight increase to 71% in May this year. At the same time, companies said they expected the opening rate to improve over the next six months.

Weak demand has been a major concern for the textile industry since September 2022, although its severity has diminished in the past six months. Other concerns include high raw material prices, geopolitical conflicts, high energy prices and a shortage of workers. Globally, 58 per cent of respondents did not experience any cancellations in May, down slightly from 59 per cent in the March survey, with lower cancellations in Africa and Europe, higher cancellations in the Americas, and higher cancellations in mills, dyeing and printing companies.

According to the survey, 59% of the finished products inventory of textile enterprises is general, the inventory of North American companies is higher, and the inventory of cotton mills is higher in each link. Inventories at brands and retailers are still high, but they are slowly declining. The continued poor operating environment for textiles has forced companies to produce at a loss or reduce their operating rates, a situation that is not expected to change significantly in 2024.

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