The study shows that many companies have adapted to the challenging situations in the global textile industry, leading to reported improvements. However, Asia is struggling the most, while South America shows positive growth. Business expectations have not changed since March 2023. Most regions remain optimistic about the situation in the next six month, except East Asia. Weavers/knitters and dyers/finishers/printers are segments with negative expectations.

Order intake remains negative in all reagions and segments, with only a slight increase in July 2023. Garment, home textile, and technical textile producers have seen improvements, but the overall balance remains negative. The order backlog reached its lowest level, and globally, companies do not expect a significant improvement to boost the backlog. An increase could be observed only in South America and for technical textiles. Capacity utilization rate is at its lowest since the start of this survey as well, with a consistent decline in Asia and Europe since 2021 and a drop for home textiles and technical textile producers.

The major concers in July 2023 are “Weakening demand”, followed by “Inflation”, “Higher raw material prices”, “Geopolitcs” and “Higher energy prices”. However, there are positive signs like reduced cost for logistics, energy, and raw material. Globally the number of cancelled orders remains relatively low. Most companies on the textile supply chain report average or low inventory levels, making cancellations unnecessary. 96% of garment manufacturers report average or low inventory levels, while spinners, weavers/knitters, and fiber producers report the highest inventories. (Source: 21st ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey (10.-17.07.2023))