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Global shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery shot up by 99.1% to 139,636 machines in 2016. The rise followed jumps of 52.1% in 2015 and 31.0% in 2014 and, as a result, shipments reached a record high in 2016.
The rise in shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery in 2016 was due entirely to an increase in shipments of machinery smaller than 70”. In fact, these were up by 99.6%, or 69,598 machines, to a record high of 139,499 machines.
Shipments of machinery measuring 70” or larger, by contrast, plunged by 41.9%, or 99 machines, to a record low of just 137 machines.
There has been a significant shift towards smaller machines in recent years. In 2000 the share of machines smaller than 70” was only 58.0% while machines 70” or larger accounted for the other 42.0%.
But in 2016 machines smaller than 70” accounted for no less than 99.9% of total shipments, and this percentage was up from 99.7% in the previous year.
Table 9: Breakdown of electronic flatbed knitting machinery shipments by type and region, 2016
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The main reasons for the shift towards smaller machines over the 15-year period are as follows.
● Many Chinese knitters prefer compact machines with multi-gauge functions.
● It is more common today to produce parts of clothing such as sleeves, front parts and back parts. For this purpose, short needle beds of up to 70” are large enough.
Geographically, the rise in shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery in 2016 was due primarily to a sharp increase in shipments to the textile industries in Asia.
However, there were also noticeable increases in shipments to the industries in five of the six other regions analysed in this report.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in Asia were up by 102.1%, or 66,369 machines, to 131,398 machines in 2016.
As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high and were almost three times the annual average of 47,419 machines which were shipped to the industries over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to these industries rose from 92.7% to 94.1% and the industries continued to constitute by far the largest regional market for electronic flatbed knitting machinery.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in other Europe (Turkey) shot up by 124.4% to 2,975 machines in 2016. As a result, shipments reached a record high and were almost double the annual average of 1,679 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to the industry rose from 1.9% in 2015 to 2.1% in 2016 and the industry climbed one place to become the second largest regional market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in Western Europe rose by 45.8% to 2,138 machines in 2016. As a result, shipments were at their highest level since 2001 and were well above the annual average of 1,386 machines which were shipped to the industries over the ten years to 2016.
However, the rise in shipments in 2016 was slower than the increase in global shipments and, as a result, the share of global shipments which went to the industries fell from 2.1% in 2015 to 1.5% in 2016. Furthermore, the industries constituted the third largest regional market after ranking second in the previous year.
Table 10: Shipments of flatbed knitting machinery by region and leading countries of destination, 2015 and 2016
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Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in Eastern Europe surged by 130.4% to 1,060 machines in 2016. The surge followed a decline of 57.7% in the previous year and, as a result, shipments in 2016 were below the peak reached in 2014. However, they were at their second highest level on record and were more than double the annual average of 445 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to these industries edged up from 0.7% to 0.8% and the industries constituted the fourth largest regional market after ranking sixth in the previous year.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in South America rose by 27.6% to 988 machines in 2016 following a 3.2% increase in 2015 and a surge of 194.1% in 2014.
As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high for the third consecutive year and were more than double the annual average of 424 machines which were shipped to the industries over the ten years to 2016.
However, the rise in shipments to the industries in South America in 2016 was slower than the increase in global shipments and, as a result, the share of global shipments which went to these industries fell from 1.1% to 0.7%. Furthermore, the industries constituted the fifth largest regional market after ranking fourth in the previous year.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in Africa fell by 13.7% to 655 machines in 2016 following a 14.8% decline in 2015.
As a result, the share of global shipments which went to the industries fell from 1.1% to just 0.5% and the industries constituted the sixth largest regional market after ranking fifth in the previous year.
Nevertheless, the decline in 2015 followed five consecutive years of growth, culminating in a surge of 341.1% in 2014. As a result, shipments in 2016 were at their third highest level on record and were more than double the annual average of 303 machines which were shipped to the industries over the ten years to 2016.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industries in North America rose by 30.7% to a record high of 422 machines in 2016. Furthermore, they were well over double the annual average of 162 machines which were shipped to the industries over the ten years to 2016.
However, the rise in shipments to the industries in North America in 2016 was slower than the increase in global shipments. As a result, the share of global shipments which went to these industries fell from 0.5% to just 0.3% and the industries continued to constitute the smallest regional market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in China surged by 186.3%, or 66,085 machines, to 101,550 machines in 2016 following an 82.9% jump in the previous year.
As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high and were more than treble the annual average of 33,473 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to the industry rose from 50.6% in 2015 to 72.7% in 2016 and the industry remained the largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Bangladesh edged up by 2.2% to 16,886 machines in 2016 following a jump of 46.1% in 2015 and a surge of 185.5% in 2014. As a result, shipments reached a record high in 2016 for the third consecutive year.
Furthermore, shipments in 2016 were well over double the annual average of 6,262 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Admittedly, the share of global shipments which went to the industry fell sharply from 23.6% in 2015 to 12.1% in 2016. Nonetheless, the industry remained the second largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Vietnam rose by 98.4% to 3,628 machines in 2016. The rise came after a 6.5% decline in 2015 but this followed surges of 373.6% in 2014 and 164.7% in 2013. As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high and accounted for 44.2% of cumulative shipments to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Admittedly, the share of global shipments which went to the industry remained static at 2.6% but the industry climbed one place to become the third largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Turkey shot up by 124.4% to 2,975 machines in 2016. As a result, shipments reached a record high and were almost double the annual average of 1,679 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to the industry rose from 1.9% in 2015 to 2.1% in 2016 and the industry climbed one place to become the fourth largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in India declined by 25.7% to 2,857 machines in 2016.
As a result, the share of global shipments which went to the industry fell from 5.5% to just 2.0% and the industry slipped two places to become the fifth largest market.
However, the decline in shipments in 2016 came after surges of 108.9% in 2015 and 342.3% in 2014 and, as a result, shipments in 2016 were still at their second highest level on record.
Furthermore, they were well over double the annual average of 1,028 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Italy rose by 55.0% to 1,403 machines in 2016. As a result, they were at their highest level since 2002 and were well above the annual average of 976 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Admittedly, the share of global shipments which went to the industry fell from 1.3% in 2015 to 1.0% in 2016. However, the industry climbed two places to become the sixth largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Cambodia rose by 13.4% to 1,242 machines in 2016 following a 12.1% increase in 2015 and a jump of 163.3% in 2014. As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high for the third consecutive year and were almost double the annual average of 680 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
However, the share of global shipments which went to the industry fell from 1.6% in 2015 to just 0.9% in 2016 and the industry remained the seventh largest market.
Table 11: Cumulative shipments of electronic flat knitting machinery by type, region and leading countries of destination, 2007-16
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Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Hong Kong fell by 11.0% to 1,009 machines in 2016.
As a result, shipments in 2016 were at their second lowest level on record and were well below the annual average of 2,866 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Furthermore, the share of global shipments which went to the industry declined from 1.6% in 2015 to just 0.7% in 2016 and the industry slipped two places to become the eighth largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Thailand rose by 22.1% to 802 machines in 2016. The rise was the fourth in succession, having followed jumps of 106.6% in 2015, 16.1% in 2014 and 48.1% in 2013. As a result, shipments in 2016 reached a record high for the second consecutive year and accounted for 28.5% of cumulative shipments to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Admittedly, the share of global shipments which went to the industry fell from 0.9% in 2015 to 0.6% in 2016. Nevertheless, the industry climbed two places to become the ninth largest market.
Shipments of electronic flatbed knitting machinery to the textile industry in Russia shot up by 123.0% to 767 machines in 2016. However, this came after a plunge of 60.9% in the previous year and, as a result, shipments in 2016 remained below the level reached in 2014. Nevertheless, they were still at their second highest level on record and were well over double the annual average of 341 machines which were shipped to the industry over the ten years to 2016.
Admittedly, the share of global shipments which went to the industry remained static in 2016, at just 0.5%, but the industry climbed five places to become the tenth largest market.
Over the ten years to 2016, the largest national market for electronic flatbed knitting machinery was the textile industry in China with a 64.6% share of global shipments (Table 11 and Figure 6).
The second largest national market was the textile industry in Bangladesh with a 12.1% share, followed by the industries in Hong Kong (with a 5.5% share), Turkey (with a 3.2% share), India (with a 2.0% share), Italy (with a 1.9% share), Vietnam (with a 1.6% share), Cambodia (with a 1.3% share), South Korea (with a 0.8% share) and Indonesia (with a 0.7% share).
Textiles Intelligence Limited is a company formed to handle the portfolio of fibres, textiles and clothing publications previously produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It is our commitment, through a wide range of Special Reports and four regular titles, Global Apparel Markets, Performance Apparel Markets, Technical Textile Markets, and Textile Outlook International to supply you with the highest quality business information about the international fibres, textiles and clothing industries.
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