Since the beginning of 2023, the global economy has gradually emerged from the shadow of the pandemic, showing a weak overall recovery trend with a certain degree of resilience. The Chinese economy has laid a solid foundation for high-quality development. China's technical textiles industry is still in the adjustment period after the high-speed growth period driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Competition among enterprises has intensified; market demand, production, sales, foreign trade and investment have declined to varying degrees. However, China’s technical textiles industry began to show marginal improvement in the second half of 2023. 

Especially after December, the main economic indicators significantly rebounded, and profitability improved throughout the year. According to research from the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textile Association (CNITA), the prosperity index of the technical textiles industry last year was 67.2, which is 15.2 higher than the first half of 2023. 

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the production of nonwoven enterprises above the designated size decreased by 3.6% year-on-year in 2023. Since the automobile industry has been bouncing back, especially with the rapid growth of new energy vehicles, the production of cord fabric in tires has been increasing steadily since the first half of 2023, showing a 9.1% year-on-year annual production growth. According to the Association’s research, the industry’s average capacity utilization rate in 2023 was approximately 73.8%, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the first half of the year. 

As for economic efficiency, technical textile enterprises above the designated size saw a decline of 5.8% in operating income and a decline of 19.1% in total profits in 2023, 1.8 percentage points and 22.4 percentage points narrower than that of the first half. 

Table 1: Growth Rate of Major Economic Indicators of China’s Technical Textile Industry, 2023 (Above Designated Size) 

 Source: National Bureau of Statistics 

Table 2: The Exports of Main Products in China’s Technical Textile Industry in 2023 

 Source: China Customs

The significant investment in China’s technical textiles industry after the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an imbalance between supply and demand in some areas. Excessive competition in the industry will impact the industry's profitability over the long term. Since the beginning of 2023, the medical market has gradually returned to normal. The field of hygiene textiles is rapidly expanding into new applications and overseas markets because of demographic changes. Additionally, technical textiles for automotive, structural reinforcement, and environmental engineering continue to experience positive growth momentum. 

Looking ahead to 2024, China's technical textiles industry will encounter a more intricate internal and external environment. Despite a series of difficulties and challenges, the long-term positive trend for the industry has not changed. Continued investment in scientific and technological innovation, personnel training, and product development has opened new opportunities for the industry. The main economic indicators of the technical textiles industry are expected to gradually return to moderate to low growth.  

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express