While the textile industry's industrial value-added growth for above-scale enterprises was only 3.3%, the textile machinery sector delivered double-digit growth in H1 2026. This contrast underscores the wave of equipment renewal and digital transformation in the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. However, growth is not universal; sub-sectors are diverging sharply, signaling a structural reshuffle.
Structural Divergence: Spinning Booms, Weaving Polarizes
In H1, the textile machinery industry saw improved sentiment, with leading enterprises' order books full and delivery efficiency rising at home and abroad. Yet the market is not uniformly rising. The spinning machinery segment shone brightest, with strong demand for intelligent complete sets like ring spinning, air-jet spinning, and rotor spinning. Domestic cotton mills' intelligent upgrades, coupled with capacity expansion in Xinjiang and other central-western clusters, drove a significant increase in spinning equipment orders. In contrast, weaving machinery showed polarization: high-end air-jet looms and special fiber weaving equipment were favored, while traditional general models saw declining demand. Chemical fiber, knitting, and printing/dyeing finishing equipment remain in slow recovery, with downstream investment cautious.
This divergence means that relying solely on traditional models is no longer viable. For equipment manufacturers, the ability to enter high-end, intelligent, and special application scenarios directly determines their position in this recovery. For buyers, choosing equipment requires more attention to technological iteration capability rather than just current price.
Export Resilience: Emerging Markets as Second Growth Pole
In foreign trade, domestic textile machinery showed strong resilience. Amid global supply chain restructuring, domestic equipment gained more orders in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa due to cost-performance advantages. Exports of spinning and weaving equipment were particularly strong. Leading textile machinery enterprises accelerated overseas layouts, with technology export and localized supporting service models improving. Overseas markets have become a new important growth pole.
This means exports are no longer an option but a necessity. For small and medium-sized textile machinery companies, how to leverage overseas markets to diversify domestic competitive pressure is a key consideration for H2. However, overseas markets also require localized service capabilities; merely selling equipment is unsustainable, requiring a shift to an integrated "equipment + software + operations" model.
Profit Pressure: Dual Squeeze from Costs and Price Wars
Despite signs of profit repair, operational pressure remains. Fluctuations in upstream raw material prices like steel and motors directly raise manufacturing costs; intensifying homogeneous competition and price wars in low-end segments compress profit margins; downstream textile enterprises' limited willingness for large-scale expansion and cautious investment decisions mean the recovery foundation still needs consolidation.
This situation forces companies to shift from "selling hardware" to "selling solutions." Industry R&D focuses on high-speed efficient production, digital control, low-carbon energy saving, and flexible equipment for small-batch quick-response modes. Innovative products like intelligent spinning lines, AGV warehousing systems, AI online quality inspection, and low-energy dyeing equipment are accelerating deployment, with core component localization progressing steadily. Many companies are transforming to provide complete process solutions, with technical service revenue share rising.
Industrial Relocation and Equipment Renewal: Dual Engines for Long-term Growth
Domestic textile industry gradient relocation releases substantial existing equipment renewal demand. Textile capacity is migrating orderly to central-western regions, driving equipment procurement for new production lines; eastern coastal enterprises are accelerating elimination of high-energy-consuming old equipment, with a new equipment renewal cycle beginning. The shift from old to new drivers paves a long-term growth track for textile machinery.
For H2, industry experts believe that with the autumn-winter peak season approaching, downstream stocking will accelerate, and textile machinery orders may maintain recovery. However, a broad rally is unlikely; resources will further concentrate among enterprises with independent R&D, high-end complete solution capabilities, and comprehensive domestic and overseas service systems. This means small and medium-sized textile machinery companies without niche barriers risk marginalization.