Intertextile Shanghai 2025: Weaving and dyeing mills face demand uncertainty amid rising competition

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics 2025 took place from March 11 to March 13. During the event, we gathered insights from exhibitors, particularly regarding the pure cotton greige fabric sector. The exhibition experienced a decent but slightly lower foot traffic compared to the previous session. Hall 5.2 (home textiles and home goods) and Hall 6.2 (functional fabrics and dye auxiliaries) had steady attendance, while Hall 7.2 (various fabrics, including lingerie, denim, babywear, and casualwear) attracted the highest traffic. Hall 8.2 (cotton yarn, polyester yarn, and fancy yarn) had a strong turnout on March 11, but foot traffic dropped on March 12, with most interactions focused on price inquiries rather than transactions.

1. Insufficient Long-Term Orders for Apparel Fabrics

At the exhibition, exhibitors from Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu in the spinning, weaving, and dyeing sectors reported diverging order trends. Leading weaving and dyeing enterprises have orders that will sustain production until early April, but price stagnation and shrinking profit margins remain key challenges, with most operating at breakeven or slight losses.

Before the Spring Festival, production focused on pre-holiday orders, while post-holiday demand has been mostly repeat orders in small volumes, leading to underutilized capacity. Some exhibitors expect market demand to further weaken after the Qingming Festival, making this year's outlook even less optimistic. U.S. tariff hikes have pressured traceable export orders, forcing them to meet tight delivery schedules.

2. Weak Demand for Home Textile Orders

Hall 5.2 had significantly lower traffic than previous years, reflecting weak demand in the home textile sector. Weaving mills reported poor order volumes, with only a few managing to schedule production until early April, primarily for C40S*C40S 133*72 fabrics. First, high costs of fine-count, high-density fabrics have dampened downstream demand. Second, lack of new orders since the beginning of the year has left mills without clear production directions, forcing them to sustain operations with standard product lines. With elevated cotton yarn costs squeezing profits, many weaving mills expressed concerns over their financial outlook.

3. Surge in Functional Fabric Supply

Exhibitors in Hall 6.2 noted a significant increase in functional fabric suppliers at the 2025 event. Many are eager to explore new fabric directions and develop products aligned with market demands. However, some exhibitors pointed out that while supply has surged, demand has not kept pace, intensifying market competition. Given the high R&D costs in this segment, exhibitors remain cautious about future profitability and actual returns.

4. Diverging trends in dyeing mill orders

Many exhibitors indicated that the traditional peak season has yet to materialize. While order schedules generally range from 10-15 days, most are carryover orders from before the holiday, with few new orders post-holiday. Leading enterprises remain relatively busy, with schedules extending beyond 20 days. Dyeing fees have remained stable or seen only slight increases, resulting in limited profit improvements.

Summary

The Shanghai exhibition highlighted that weaving and dyeing mills are largely relying on pre-holiday orders, with post-holiday demand mostly consisting of small repeat orders and a lack of new business. With stagnant greige fabric and dyeing costs, profitability remains weak, with many businesses operating near break-even or at slight losses. Meanwhile, functional fabric supply is expanding rapidly, intensifying market competition, making future demand trends a key factor to watch.