Global yarn & fabric production falls in Q3/17

Global yarn production decreased by -0.4 per cent between Q2/17 and Q3/17. An output reduction of respectively -3 per cent and -0.5 per cent in Europe and Asia have been balanced at the world level by increases of 0.5 per cent in Africa, 4.8 per cent in the USA, and 6.5 per cent in Brazil. Overall, the global level of yarn production in Q3/17 is slightly lower than it was in Q3/16 (-2.4 per cent). This downward trend is expected to be observed in the fourth quarter due to negative forecasts in the Asian market.

Global yarn stocks decreased by -0.3 per cent to -6 per cent in all regions in Q3/17 but in Europe, where stocks experienced a 10 percentage points increase. Altogether, yarn stocks reached 105 per cent of the previous year level, a score which is about 10 per cent below the Q3/15 results. Global yarn orders fell by -2.7 per cent around the world between Q2 and Q3/17, a compound effect of a 14 per cent increase in Korea, European stability (100.3 per cent), and decreases in Egypt (-2.5 per cent) and Brazil (-11.7 per cent).

Global fabric production decreased from Q2 to Q3/17 by -0.6 per cent. This reflects an improvement in Brazil (10.7 per cent), stable conditions in the USA (100 per cent), and a reduction in Asia (-0.9 per cent), Europe (-3.1 per cent), and Africa (-7.6 per cent). The world output level now reaches 101.7 per cent of its Q3/15 level. Negative forecasts in all regions should lower this level in Q4/17. In Q3/17, the global fabric stocks have shown a positive trend in all regions but in Egypt (-9 per cent). In Q3/17, it reached 104.5 per cent of his Q2/17 level. This improvement was nevertheless not sufficient to bring fabrics stocks at their Q3/15 level, which was 7 per cent higher. A significant positive change of 18.4 per cent in stocks has been observed in Brazil. This trend has been setting in for the third consecutive quarter. While conditions are relatively stable in Asia and the USA, Europe shows slow but constant positive changes. Finally, the global fabric orders have improved between Q2 and Q3/17. A strong improvement in Brazil (18.3 per cent) was compensated by reductions in Europe and Africa (-1.2 per cent and -2.6 per cent respectively), which brought the global index to 112.7 per cent of its previous quarter level, very close to its Q3/15 level (-1.2 per cent).