In the first five months of 2026, the global economy showed a complex pattern of low growth, high sticky inflation, and geopolitical risks dominant, global growth expectations were repeatedly revised downward, and the policies of major economies were in a difficult balance between "fighting inflation" and " stabilizing growth" ; China's economy actively responded to external challenges, overcame internal difficulties, and the production supply grew steadily, new momentum accelerated growth, and the national economy continued to develop in an overall stable, new, and superior direction. China's industrial textile industry operated overallstably, and the industrial added value maintained medium-speed growth.
I. Production and Efficiency
In terms of production, the growth rate of the industry's main products accelerated. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of non-woven fabric and cord fabric in the first five months of the year increased by 9.5% and 3.8% respectively compared to the same period in 2025, an increase of 5.6 percentage points and 3.4 percentage points respectively.
In terms of economic efficiency, some economic indicators of the industry improved and showed strong resilience. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the operating income of industrial textile industry's enterprises above designated size turned from decreasing to increasing in the first five months of the year, with a year-on-year increase of 1.7%, and the total profit decreased year-on-year by 3%, with an operating profit margin of 3.6%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.
By sector, the operating conditions of enterprises above designated size in various industries in the first five months of the year:
The operating income and total profit of non-woven fabric industry enterprises above designated size increased by 2.5% and 9.9% year-on-year respectively, with an operating profit margin of 2.7%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous year;
The operating income of rope, cord, and cable industry enterprises above designated size increased by 1.8% year-on-year, and the total profit decreased by 9.7%, with an operating profit margin of 3%, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous year;
The operating income and total profit of textile belt and cord fabric industry enterprises above designated size decreased by 4.1% and 2.4% year-on-year respectively, with an operating profit margin of 3.7%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous year;
The operating income of tarp and canvas industry enterprises above designated size increased by 8.5% year-on-year, and the total profit decreased by 5.7%, with an operating profit margin of 4.2%, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous year;
Other technical textiles industry (construction, protective textiles, etc.) enterprises above a designated scale saw a slight increase of 0.2% in operating income year-on-year, total profits decreased by 11.5% year-on-year, and the operating profit margin of 5% was the highest level in the industry.
II, import and export trade
In terms of international trade, industry exports grew steadily. According to China's customs data (customs 8-digit HS code statistical data), the export value of China's technical textiles industry in the first 5 months of 2026 was $18.81 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%; the industry's import value was $2.28 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. By product, the industry's largest export category, industrial coated fabrics, had an export value of $2.19 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1%; non-woven fabrics ranked second with an export value of $1.93 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%, and the export volume reached 7.7 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%; the export value of felt, tents was $1.85 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%; the export value of absorbent textiles (diapers, sanitary napkins, etc.) was $1.76 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%; in terms of wiping textiles, the export value of wiping cloths (excluding wet wipes) and wet wipes was $710 million and $490 million, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 4.3% and 14.7%, respectively. Among other key products, the export value of industrial glass fiber products reached $1.02 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%; products such as textile products of rope (cable) belt, leather-based fabrics, packaging textiles, and medical dressings all achieved different degrees of export growth, and the export value of canvas decreased by 1.4% year-on-year.
In the first 5 months of 2026, the United States, Vietnam, and Japan were the top three export destinations for China's technical textiles, with export values of $2.21 billion, $1.48 billion, and $940 million, respectively, year-on-year increases of 3.5%, 8.3%, and 0.9%. During the same period, China exported technical textiles to the "Belt and Road" countries participating in the construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, with an export value of $11.34 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%, accounting for about 60% of the industry's total export value.
III, the trend of raw material prices
In June 2026, the international oil price fell sharply, the situation in the Middle East significantly eased, the shipping of the Strait of Hormuz was continuously improved, and oil-producing countries such as Iraq planned to accelerate production increase. During the month, the price of polyester fell weakly, the price of nylon long fiber ran weakly, the price of polypropylene opened the downward channel, the cost support and pressure of viscose short fiber co-existed, and the price fluctuated and rose. The geopolitical premium in the market gradually receded, and the transaction logic of the chemical fiber industry slowly switched to the supply and demand fundamentals.
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