In the first half of 2026, the textile machinery industry recorded double-digit growth in industrial value-added for enterprises above designated size, significantly outpacing the 3.3% average growth of the entire textile sector. This contrast reflects the direct pull of equipment renewal and digital transformation policies in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and signals that the sector has emerged from the trough and entered a structural recovery phase.
Background
The recovery is not broad-based. Among sub-sectors, spinning machinery performed best, with orders for intelligent complete sets such as ring spinning, air-jet spinning, and rotor spinning surging, driven by the intelligent upgrading of cotton spinning enterprises and capacity expansion in Xinjiang and other central-western clusters. Weaving machinery showed polarization: high-end air-jet looms and special fiber weaving equipment were favored, while demand for traditional general-purpose models declined. Chemical fiber, knitting, and dyeing & finishing equipment are still in a slow repair phase, with downstream investment cautious and recovery pace moderate.
This divergence essentially reflects downstream textile enterprises' investment logic: prioritize intelligent equipment that directly improves efficiency and reduces labor, while remaining restrained on capacity-expanding equipment. For equipment manufacturers, this means product structure must shift toward high-speed, high-efficiency, digital control, and low-carbon solutions; the era of relying solely on general-purpose models is over.
Industry Impact
In foreign trade, domestic textile machinery has gained more orders in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, thanks to cost-performance advantages. Spinning and weaving equipment exports performed notably well. Leading enterprises are accelerating overseas expansion, with technology export and localized supporting service models maturing, making overseas markets a new growth pole. However, fluctuations in raw material prices such as steel and motors directly raise manufacturing costs, and price wars in low-end segments continue to compress profit margins.
Although overall industry profitability is improving, the recovery foundation needs consolidation. Downstream textile enterprises have limited willingness for large-scale expansion and are more cautious in investment decisions, forcing machinery makers to transition from pure equipment sales to integrated "equipment + software + operation & maintenance" services. Innovative products such as intelligent spinning lines, AGV warehouse transfer systems, and AI online quality inspection are accelerating deployment, with core component localization progressing steadily and technical service revenue share rising.
Industrial relocation within China is also releasing demand for existing equipment renewal. Capacity moving to central-western regions drives procurement for new production lines, while eastern coastal enterprises accelerate scrapping of high-energy-consuming old equipment, opening a new renewal cycle and laying a long-term growth track for the industry.