Industry Analysis: Brief Introduction To The Operation Of Industrial Textile Industry From January To December 2023

Since 2023, the global economy has gradually stepped out of the haze of the new epidemic, showing a weak recovery trend as a whole, but maintaining a certain resilience; The domestic economy has made progress in the face of difficulties, supply and demand have steadily improved, high-quality development has been solidly promoted, and the good trend has been further consolidated. China's industrial textile industry as a whole is still in the adjustment period after the rapid growth during the COVID-19 epidemic. Competition among enterprises has intensified, and market demand, production, sales, import and export, and investment have declined to varying degrees. However, since the second half of the year, it has gradually entered the stage of marginal repair, especially in December, major economic indicators have rebounded significantly, The profitability of the whole year improved significantly. According to the research of the Association, the prosperity index of the industrial textile industry in 2023 is 67.2, which is in the boom zone, 15.2 higher than the first half of 2023, and 9.9 higher than the same period of 2022.

In terms of production, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the production scale of nonwoven fabrics of enterprises above designated size in 2023 will decline compared with that in 2022, and the growth rate of production will generally show a low negative growth trend, with the annual output declining by 3.6% year on year; With the continuous recovery of the automotive industry, especially the rapid growth of the production and sales of new energy vehicles, the production of cord fabric has been growing steadily since the first half of the year resumed positive growth, and the annual output increased by 9.1% year on year. According to the research of the Association, the average capacity utilization rate of the industry in 2023 will be about 73.8%, 2.1 percentage points higher than that in the first half of the year.

In terms of economic benefits, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, the operating income and total profit of enterprises above designated size in the industrial textile industry will respectively decline by 5.8% and 19.1% year on year, 1.8 percentage points lower and 22.4 percentage points lower than that in the first half of the year, respectively. The operating profit margin will be 4.1%, 1.2 percentage points higher than that in the first half of the year, and the profitability of enterprises will be significantly improved. In terms of different fields, in 2023, the operating income and total profit of enterprises above designated size of nonwovens will decrease by 5.2% and 19.1% respectively year on year, and the growth rate of total profit will be significantly reduced by 46.8 percentage points compared with the first half of the year, and the operating profit margin will be 3.2%, 2 percentage points higher than the first half of the year; Although the operating income and total profit of enterprises above rope, cable and cable scale decreased by 1.7% and 4.9% respectively year on year, the decrease was 5.8% and 55.6% lower than that in the first half of the year respectively, and the operating profit margin was 3.6%, 1.6% higher than that in the first half of the year; The operating income and total profit of enterprises above designated size of textile belt and cord fabric decreased by 6.1% and 37.1% respectively year on year, and the operating profit margin was 3.1%, down 1.6 percentage points year on year; The operating income and total profit of enterprises above awning and canvas scale decreased by 11.7% and 29.3% respectively year on year, and the operating profit margin was 5%, down 1.3 percentage points year on year; The operating income and total profit of other industrial textile enterprises above designated size where filter and geotextile are located decreased by 4.4% and 8% respectively year on year, and the operating profit margin of 6% is the highest level in the industry.

Growth rate of major economic indicators of industrial textile industry from January to December 2023

Data source: according to the National Bureau of Statistics

According to the survey of the Association, the operation quality and efficiency of the sample enterprises in 2023 have improved compared with the same period in 2022, and nearly half of the enterprises' operating revenue has increased year on year; The total profit of 24.1% of enterprises increased by more than 10% year on year, and the quality and efficiency of large enterprises and their operations were better than those of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In terms of international trade, according to China's customs data, the export volume of China's industrial textile industry from January to December 2023 (customs 8-digit HS code statistics) was 38.77 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 11.2%, narrowing the decline compared with the first half of the year; From January to December, the industry import volume (customs 8-digit HS code statistics) was 5.22 billion US dollars, down 14.9% year on year. In terms of products, industrial coated fabric and felt cloth/tent are the two major export products of the industry at present. The export value of industrial coated fabric exceeded 4.5 billion dollars, and the export value of felt cloth/tent was 3.84 billion dollars, down 12.5% year on year; The overseas demand for nonwovens continued to recover, with the export volume of 1.3 million tons, up 9.1% year on year, and the export volume of 3.81 billion US dollars. With the recovery of export unit price, the decline in the export volume of nonwovens narrowed to 3.1%; The overseas market of disposable sanitary products (diapers, sanitary napkins, etc.) remained active, with the export volume reaching 3.32 billion US dollars, up 11.7% year on year; Among the traditional products, the decline in the export volume of leather base cloth and industrial glass fiber products has narrowed compared with that in the first half of the year, while the decline in the export volume of cord (cable) and belt textiles, canvas, and packaging textiles has deepened to varying degrees compared with that in the first half of the year; The export volume of wiping cloths (excluding wet wipes) was US $1.43 billion, up 1.5% year on year.

Exports of industrial textiles and major products from January to December 2023

Data source: according to the data of China Customs

After the COVID-19 epidemic, large-scale investment in China's industrial textile industry has caused imbalance between supply and demand in some fields, and excessive competition in the industry will affect the profitability of the industry for a long time. However, since 2023, the medical market has gradually returned to normal. With the change of population structure, the field of sanitary textiles is actively expanding new applications and overseas markets. Textiles for automobiles, structural reinforcement and environmental engineering will continue to maintain a positive growth momentum.

Looking forward to 2024, China's industrial textile industry will face a more complex internal and external environment. Despite a series of difficulties and challenges, the basic trend of the industry's long-term improvement has not changed. The continuous investment in scientific and technological innovation, talent training, and product development has strengthened the industry's internal motivation to expand new areas and resist market risks, The huge domestic demand market and diversified application directions will strongly support the sustainable development of the industry; It is expected that the industrial textile industry will gradually go out of the adjustment period after the epidemic, and the main economic indicators will return to a medium low growth rate.

(Source: China Industrial Textile Industry Association)