{besps}ss/vdma1{/besps}Zurich - Global shipments of large diameter circular knitting machines increased by 27 per cent to a record 36,650 in 2012 with Turkey registering as the second single investor behind China.
However, the latest statistics from the 35th annual International Textile Machinery Shipment Statistics (ITMSS), just released by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), also show that global shipments of electronic flat knitting machines in 2012 slumped by 34% to 46,100 machines.
Of these flat knitting machines, the bulk of global shipments was delivered to Asia (40,940 or 89%), while Europe's share (including Turkey) reached 10% (4,670 machines). The biggest single investor in 2012 was again China, where 33,040 new machines (72%) were installed, followed by Bangladesh with 4,360 (9.5%), Turkey with 2,660 (5.8%), Hong Kong with 1,090 (2.4%) and Italy with 826 (1.8%).
In the circular knitting sector, Asia was again the main regional investor in this type of machinery accounting for 33,600 units or 92 per cent of all machines shipped in 2012.
The biggest single investor was once more China with a total of 28,280 (a global market share of 77%) followed by Turkey with 1,420 (or 3.9%), Indonesia with 1,350 (or 3.7%), India with 1,200 (or 3.3%) and Bangladesh with 735 (or 2.0%).
Overall, the figures also show that after a sharp reduction in global shipments of new textile machinery in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the global financial and economic crisis in 2008/2009, deliveries of new textile machinery jumped in 2010 and 2011, in most cases to new record highs. In 2012 shipments of new textile machinery fell in most segments in comparison to 2011.
