Zurich - Global shipments of large diameter circular knitting machines grew by 12 per cent to 30,231 units in 2020, in contrast to a significant drop in flat knitting machine sales.
The latest statistics from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) show that the Asia & Oceania region was the world’s leading investor in the circular knitting sector with 81 per cent of worldwide shipments.
With 62 per cent of all deliveries (15,980 units), China was the favoured destination followed by India and Turkey with 2,433 and 2,381 units, respectively.
The electronic flat knitting machine sector, however, saw a drop of 52 per cent to around 66,000 machines. Asia & Oceania was the main destination for these machines with a share of 77 per cent of world shipments. China remained the world’s largest investor with a 38 per cent share of total shipments despite a 74 per cent plunge in investments. Shipments to China dropped from about 69,000 units in 2019 to 17,000 units in 2020.
Overall, global shipments of textile machines decreased on average compared to 2019. Deliveries of new short-staple spindles, open-end rotors, and long-staple spindles dropped by 48 per cent, 27 per cent, and 46 per cent, respectively. The sum of all deliveries in the finishing segment also dropped by 17 per cent on average.