In the first half of 2026, textile machinery manufacturers above designated size achieved double-digit growth in industrial value-added, while the average growth for the entire textile industry was only 3.3%. This contrast indicates that investment enthusiasm in equipment has significantly outpaced downstream production, with smart and green equipment becoming the core engine driving industry growth. For equipment makers, seizing this structural opportunity is more critical than expecting a broad-based recovery.
Background
As the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, 2026's equipment renewal and digital transformation policies have injected direct momentum into the textile machinery market. According to the industry operation report released by the China National Textile and Apparel Council, leading machinery companies had full order books, with improving delivery efficiency both domestically and internationally, and overall industry sentiment continued to recover. However, not all segments rose equally. Spinning machinery performed most prominently, with strong demand for intelligent complete sets such as ring spinning, air-jet spinning, and rotor spinning. This is attributed to the dual boost from domestic cotton mills' smart upgrade wave and the continuous capacity expansion in Xinjiang and other central-western industrial clusters.
In contrast, the weaving machinery sector showed clear polarization: high-end air-jet looms and special fiber weaving equipment were favored, while demand for traditional general-purpose models gradually declined. Chemical fiber machinery, knitting machinery, and dyeing and finishing equipment are still in a slow repair phase, with downstream investment attitudes conservative and sector recovery pace moderate. This divergence indicates that downstream clients prefer equipment that can directly enhance efficiency or differentiated competitiveness, rather than simple capacity expansion.
Industry Impact
In foreign trade, domestic textile machinery leveraged cost-performance advantages to secure more orders in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, with spinning and weaving equipment exports performing particularly well. Leading enterprises have shifted from simply selling machines to technology licensing and localized supporting services, making overseas markets a new growth pole. For export-oriented companies, pure price competition is gradually giving way to competition in comprehensive service capabilities.
On the profitability front, there are signs of repair, but operational pressures remain. Fluctuations in raw material prices such as steel and motors directly raise manufacturing costs, while price wars in low-end segments compress margins. Meanwhile, downstream textile enterprises have limited willingness for large-scale expansion and are more cautious in investment decisions, so the industry's recovery foundation still needs consolidation. In this context, technological innovation has become the core path to break through difficulties. R&D focuses on high-speed and high-efficiency production, digital control systems, low-carbon energy saving, and flexible equipment suitable for small-batch, quick-response models. Smart spinning lines, AGV warehousing and transfer systems, AI online quality inspection, and low-energy dyeing equipment are accelerating deployment, and localization of core components is steadily advancing.
Notably, many companies have moved beyond single-equipment sales to provide full-process turnkey solutions, with service revenue share rising. This drives industry value from pure manufacturing to integrated "equipment + software + operations and maintenance" services. At the same time, the gradient transfer of textile capacity to central and western regions drives equipment procurement for new production lines, while eastern coastal enterprises accelerate scrapping of high-energy-consuming old equipment, ushering in a new renewal cycle that paves a long-term growth track for the industry.