Weaving: a growth sector

Woven fabrics are used worldwide in a wide variety of applications – including apparel, household textiles and furnishings, medical items, industrial uses, and technical products. Fabric weaving consumes about 28 mn tons of fibres per annum – equivalent to over half of the global textile market. Moreover, global production of woven products will grow by 25% between 2002 and 2010, reaching more than 35 mn tons. Most of this growth will take place in Asia.

Relocation to low cost countries will intensify

Imports of textiles and apparel will grow in the developed economies of Western Europe, the USA, and Japan – and, increasingly, in the newly industrialised economies of Taiwan and South Korea. Furthermore, import growth will intensify after the end of 2004 when quotas restricting international textile and clothing trade are eliminated under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).

Manufacturers in developed countries are likely to respond by relocating operations to production centres in low wage countries. Those who choose nearby locations will also benefit from market proximity and speed of response.

Growth will be fuelled by demand for technical textiles

For producers in developed economies, there are increasing possibilities of growth in the technical, medical and industrial sectors. Such growth would ensure that weaving remains a significant sector within the textile industries in developed countries during the early part of the 21st century.

World Markets for Woven Textiles and Apparel: Forecasts to 2010 examines all these issues and more. In particular, it will provide you with:

• an assessment of the technologies used at all stages of the weaving process, for both staple fibre yarns and filament yarns;
• an indication of the response of developers of weaving technology to new requirements imposed by the weaving sector;
• an insight into the levels of fibre quality which will be necessary to enable new technologies to be employed in the most effective manner;
• production cost breakdowns and trends for different countries and comparisons of production costs between different weaving technologies;
• authoritative predictions of the future global market for woven textiles and apparel, with particular emphasis on expected trading patterns and the factors likely to affect competition; and
• expert forecasts of global and regional markets for woven textiles and apparel to 2010.