During the period from January 25, 2021 to March 10th, the International Federation of textile workers conducted Seventh International Textile COVID-19 impact surveys in the members of the international spinning Union, the associated enterprises and the association

1. The Seventh International Textile union COVID-19 impact survey: see
the light at the end of the tunnel.
Article 1
Globally, the turnover in 2020 is 9% lower than that in 2019.
During the period from January 25, 2021 to March 10th, the International Federation of
textile workers conducted Seventh International Textile COVID-19 impact surveys in the
members of the international spinning Union, the associated enterprises and the
association. A total of 196 enterprises from all over the world participated to understand
the impact of the COVID-19 fashion on the global textile value chain. The first international
textile COVID-19 impact survey was conducted in March 2020, when Europe launched its
first blockade. The seventh survey shows that compared with 2019, the actual turnover in
2020 decreased by 9% (see Figure 1). Although this decline was significantly better than the
33% expected decline in the third survey in April 2020, which was at the peak of the first
outbreak. Even so, 2020 will still be one of the worst years for the global textile and
garment industry.
As can be expected, the entire textile value chain, including textile machinery

2. manufacturers, has been hit hard by the epidemic. In 2020, almost all the industry sectors
concerned by this survey will be negatively impacted to varying degrees (see Figure 2).
Nonwovens (+ / - 0%) and fiber (+ 10%) producers are two prominent industry sectors
without negative growth. It can be assumed that these two sectors benefit from the special
demand for masks in 2020, which largely makes up for the losses of the above two sectors
in other fields, such as automobile and clothing.
Article 2
By 2024, global turnover is expected to grow by an average of 17% (compared with 2019).
For 2021 and the next few years before 2024, the turnover is expected to increase

3. positively (see Figure 3), which is generally unchanged from the previous survey. Globally,
the expected turnover growth in 2021 and 2022 is strong, indicating that enterprises are
expected to have a strong recovery. For 2023 and 2024, the growth expectation of
enterprises is weak. In terms of each region, the most significant result is the positive
expectation of African enterprises (an increase of 31% by 2024), while the expectation in
other regions is between + 12% and + 21%.
It is noteworthy that by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, 31% of enterprises have
reached the pre crisis turnover level (see Figure 4), and 47% of enterprises are expected to
recover in 2021. In other words, quarterly, it is expected to reach the pre crisis level by the
end of 2021.
Article 3
With the exception of South East Asia and South America, production capacity declined in

4. several regions.
It is not surprising that global capacity has decreased by 3% in 2020. The two regions that
reported the largest declines were North America (- 17%) and Africa (- 11%). The capacity
decline in other regions is in the range of - 1 to - 3% (see Figure 5). Somewhat surprisingly,
capacity growth in Southeast Asia and South America has even reached 2%
Globally, the average capacity utilization has increased significantly (see Figure 6). 74% of
enterprises have capacity utilization of 80% or higher, compared with 60% in the sixth
survey in December 2020. In this survey, only 21% of enterprises reported an average
capacity utilization rate of 60% to 80%, compared with 32% in the sixth survey.
Article 4
Change of order pattern during COVID-19 pandemic, deterioration of payment delivery
terms.
In 2020, the size and frequency of orders changed. Most enterprises say that the size and
frequency of orders either increase or decrease (see Figure 7). Only 28% said that the order
size remained unchanged, and only 22% of enterprises said that the order receiving
frequency had not changed. In other words, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant
impact on the order.
Does this also lead to changes in terms and methods of payment and delivery? We had
thought and hoped that the criticism of extensive cancellation / postponement of orders

5. (especially those that have been produced or even shipped) could bring positive changes to
the terms and methods of payment and delivery. However, it is somewhat surprising that
51% of enterprises have experienced the deterioration of payment and delivery terms and
methods (see Figure 8).
Article 5
Undelivered orders and order receipt improved
From the perspective of never delivered orders, enterprises in most regions have increased
slightly between January 2020 and January 2021 (see Figure 10). Only companies in
Southeast Asia reported fewer undelivered orders.
As for the order volume, the reply shows that compared with August 2020, the order
volume of global enterprises in February 2021 (calculated by net: better / higher minus
worse / lower) is better, 54% (see Figure 9). Looking ahead, optimism remains strong.
Compared with today, 41% of enterprises expect better / higher turnover in the next six
months (to August 2021) and even 50% turnover in the next twelve months (to February
2022). A closer look at each region (see Figure 11) shows that orders are expected to
increase in the next 12 months, especially in South America, North America and Africa.
These three regions were more affected by the epidemic than other regions, and the order

6. volume began to increase from a low level.
Article 6
High freight / longer transportation time reduces profit margin
The global textile industry recovered after the outbreak of the first wave of epidemic in the
first half of 2020. It was and is affected by the shortage of freight containers and port
congestion around the world.
Therefore, most enterprises (59%) must absorb the higher freight costs that lead to the
decline of profit margin. 26% of enterprises reported that they could not operate at full
capacity due to the lack of necessary input materials (see Figure 12).

7. Article 7
Most enterprises intend to invest in higher levels of automation in 2021 and / or 2022
Although or because 2020 is a severely affected year, most enterprises still plan to invest in
2021 or 2022. Investment intentions are particularly evident in South America, South Asia
and Southeast Asia (see Figure 13).
The most important reason for investment is to improve automation and productivity (31%).
For 19% of enterprises, increasing production capacity is another important reason (see
Figure 14). Reducing energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are also
important (16%, 9% and 8% respectively).