The third quarter of 2009 confirmed the strong rebound of global textile production observed in the previous quarter. Both global yarn and fabric production rose modestly in almost all regions, particularly in South America, while North America recorded stagnant output. Global yarn stocks fell slightly as a consequence of significant lower stocks in South America and Europe and despite slightly higher inventories in Asia, according to statistics from the International Textile Manufacturer’s Federation (ITMF).

Global stocks of fabrics soared, driven by Asia and South America, while Europe and North America saw inventories fall. Orders of yarn and fabrics in Europe and Brazil jumped significantly, especially in Brazil.

World yarn production rose in the third quarter of 2009 by 1.3% compared with the previous quarter, confirming the impressive rebound of the second quarter (22%). With the exception of North America (-2.3%) all regions recorded increases, especially South America (5%), Europe (4.5%) and Asia (1.2%). Nevertheless, in comparison to last year’s quarter, only Asia experienced growth (4.9%), while yarn production in North America, South America and Europe was still considerably below last year’s levels (-24.6%, -5.3% and -4.5%, respectively).

Fabric production also grew worldwide by 1.2% in the third quarter of 2009. Global fabric production increased or remained stable in all regions. In Asia and North America fabric production was unchanged compared with the previous quarter. Europe, on the other hand, recorded a slight increase of 0.9%, while fabric production in South America surged by 18.1%. Year-on-year global fabric production was up by 4.2% due to higher outputs in South America (11.8%) and Asia (6.1%), while North America and Europe still recorded significantly lower production levels (-17.1% and -17.9%, respectively), according to the statistics.

Global yarn inventories were almost unchanged (-0.6%) in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the previous one. Yarn stocks plummeted in South America by -15.3% and decreased in Europe by -3.2% but remained stable in North America and rose by 1.3% in Asia. On an annual basis yarn stocks were down by 2.3% globally with South America, Europe and Asia seeing reductions of 10.3%, 3.4% and 2%.

The level of global fabric stocks jumped by 5.3% in the third quarter of 2009, worldwide, from its lowest levels in years. While inventories in North America and Europe continued falling by 7.7% and 1.5%, respectively, reaching new lows, those in South America and Asia grew by 3.3% and 10.5%, respectively. In comparison with last year’s third quarter, inventories rose by 2.2% on a global scale. This increase was a result of higher stocks in Asia (9.8%), while those in North America, South America and Europe fell by 18.3%, 3.8% and 3.3%, respectively.

In the third quarter of 2009 both yarn and fabric orders experienced a strong increase. Yarn and fabric orders in Europe grew by 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively and those in Brazil even jumped by 19.1% and 10%, respectively. On an annual basis yarn and fabric orders in Europe were still down by 2.4% and 12.1%, respectively, whereas in Brazil they rose by 6.6% and 4%, respectively.