The strong global recovery in yarn and fabric production continued in the second quarter of 2010. Global yarn and fabric production rose significantly compared with both the first quarter of 2010 and last year’s second quarter, according to statistics released by the ITMF.

Asia’s increases in the second quarter are influenced particularly by China’s increases which are somewhat overstated since production in China in the first quarter is traditionally lower compared with the other ones as a result of fewer working days due to Chinese New Year.

Global yarn and fabric stocks were slightly up in the second quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter. As compared with the second quarter of 2009, yarn stocks worldwide fell slightly as a result of lower stocks in Asia and Europe while global inventories of fabrics jumped strongly mainly due to higher inventories in South America and Asia that offset drops in Europe and North America.

Yarn and fabric orders increased in Europe and South America in comparison with both the previous quarter and last year. On the other hand yarn and fabric orders in Brazil fell significantly compared with the previous quarter.

World yarn production jumped by 18.6% in the second quarter in comparison with the first quarter of 2010. Asian production increased by 19.8%, South American by 10.1%, European by 5.3% and North American by 4.7%. In comparison with last year’s second quarter all regions still recorded higher output levels. With a jump of 21.9%, South America’s yarn production surged impressively. But Europe (+20.3%), Asia (+11.1%) and North America (+4.7%) also experienced higher output levels, according to the statistics.

Worldwide fabric production in the second quarter of 2010 also jumped by 16.2%. All regions recorded higher output levels, particularly Asia (+17.5%) and South America (+11.2%) but also Europe (+7.1%) and North America (+6.9%). Global fabric production increased year-on-year by 10.4%. Only North America’s fabric production declined during this period by 4.4%, whereas the other regions recorded higher output levels. Fabric production in Europe was up by 24.4%, South America’s by 14.5% and Asia’s by 9.3%.

World yarn inventories rose slightly in the second quarter of 2010 by 1.4%. In South America they soared by 40% and remained almost unchanged in Europe (+0.3%) but fell slightly in Asia (-0.8%). On an annual basis world yarn stocks were down by 0.3% as inventories dropped in Europe and Asia by 4% and 0.7%, respectively. South America’s yarn inventories were up by 13.4%.

Fabric stocks were up by 1.5% globally in the second quarter of 2010 with Asia, North America and Europe recording increases of 2.4%, 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Only in South America did fabric stocks fall slightly by 0.5%. In comparison with last year’s second quarter, global fabric inventories skyrocketed in South America and Asia by 45.2% and 19.8%, respectively, while fabric stocks in North America and Europe fell by 9.9% and 0.2%, respectively.

In the second quarter of 2010 yarn and fabric orders in Europe rose slightly by 0.6% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand yarn and fabric orders in Brazil dropped by 13.4% and 4.4%, respectively. On an annual basis yarn and fabric orders in Europe were up by 8.6% and 11.4%, respectively. In Brazil yarn orders fell by 3.1% while fabric orders were up by 5.4%, according to ITMF’s statistics.

In general, the statistics show returning confidence, reflected in higher production of yarn and fabrics. However, yarn inventories remained modest, perhaps demonstrating an unwillingness to produce too much in case there were any set backs in the recovery. There were significant differences in global fabric inventories between South America, Asia and North America and Europe. This may reflect the lower confidence levels in the North American and European fabric manufacturing industry, with more of a make-to-order approach operating.