The global textile machinery industry experienced highly varied and contrasting market dynamics throughout 2025, according to the 48th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS) released by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF). Amid a general downward trend affecting most segments of global textile manufacturing, the spinning sector notably bucked the trend with positive growth.

Based on a comprehensive survey compiled in cooperation with more than 200 global textile machinery manufacturers, global shipments of new short-staple spindles and open-end rotors increased by +3.3% and +3.5% year-on-year, respectively. Conversely, deliveries across various other support and processing machinery lines—such as long-staple spindles, draw-texturing machines, shuttle-less looms, as well as circular and flat knitting machines—registered sharp corrections.

The upswing in the spinning sector was driven by a global increase in shipped short-staple spindles of 195,000 units in 2025, reaching a total of 6.11 million units. Asia and Oceania absorbed the vast majority of these new shipments at a 95% share, where delivery volumes grew by 8.5% compared to 2024. The six largest investors in the short-staple segment included China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Meanwhile, regarding global open-end rotor shipments, 645,000 units were shipped worldwide, representing about 50,000 more units than recorded in 2024. Around 94% of these global shipments went to Asia and Oceania, with China, India, and Vietnam emerging as the world's top three investors, posting increased investments of +4%, +12%, and +17%, respectively.

While the spinning sector maintained robust performance, other textile machinery segments faced heavy market pressure throughout 2025. Global shipments of long-staple (wool) spindles plunged by -31% down to 90,000 units, driven primarily by suppressed demand in Asia and Oceania. Similar downward trends hit texturing machinery: single-heater draw-texturing spindles dropped -21% to 65,000 units, while double-heater spindles fell -22% to 743,000 units. In the weaving sector, global shipments of shuttle-less looms decreased by -27.5% to 164,000 units, with the steepest drop recorded in water-jet looms, which plummeted by -38%.

Weakness also extended into the knitting and finishing sectors. Shipments of large circular knitting machines deteriorated by -13% to 24,500 units, with China remaining the favored destination, absorbing 53% of all deliveries. Shipped electronic flat knitting machines contracted by -21% to 106,000 machines, though Asia and Oceania still received 93% of world shipments. On the other hand, the finishing segment displayed mixed results: shipments of stenters in the continuous fabrics category rose +3% to 2.3,000 units, whereas overflow dyeing machines in the discontinuous fabrics category recorded a -30% decrease down to 2,900 units. This comprehensive ITMF report underscores that 2025 was a period of major structural adjustment for the global textile manufacturing supply chain.