Industry News: A Brief Analysis Of The Economic Operation Of The Printing And Dyeing Industry In The First Quarter

In the first quarter of 2024, as the effect of China's macro portfolio policy continues to release, the recovery of the national economy continues to consolidate, the demand advantage of China's super large market is gradually revealed, the endogenous driving force of economic development is further strengthened, and the global economy ushers in an overall recovery, and the inflation pressure of major developed economies slows down, The international market's demand for textile and clothing consumption has warmed up, helping China's printing and dyeing industry to achieve a good start in economic operation. In the first quarter, the production situation of China's printing and dyeing industry was good. The output of printing and dyeing fabrics grew steadily, the export scale of major products increased steadily, the quality and efficiency of development gradually improved, the industry's operating income and total profits maintained a rapid growth, and the profitability of enterprises was significantly restored, laying a good foundation for the smooth operation of the whole year.

The production situation started well

Steady growth in output

According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to March 2024, the output of printing and dyeing fabrics of enterprises above designated size in the printing and dyeing industry will reach 12.142 billion meters, an increase of 3.96% year on year, 4.23 and 2.66 percentage points faster than that of the same period last year and the whole year of 2023 respectively. In the first quarter of this year, with the implementation of a series of policies to support the development of the real economy, China's national economy as a whole continued the recovery trend since 2023, and industrial production rose steadily. In the first quarter, China's GDP grew by 5.3% year on year, ranking first among major economies in the world; In March, China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) was 50.8%, rebounding to the boom zone. The terminal consumption of textiles and clothing continued to pick up, driving the production of the printing and dyeing industry to maintain growth. In the first quarter, the per capita clothing consumption expenditure of the national residents increased by 12.4% year on year, and the retail sales of clothing, shoes and hats, and knitwear and textiles of units above the national quota increased by 2.5% year on year.

Simultaneous improvement of quality and efficiency of development

Significant improvement in enterprise efficiency

According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to March 2024, the proportion of three fees of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size was 7.64%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.31 percentage points, of which the financial expenses decreased by 22.45%, ending the growth trend since 2023, and the financial situation of printing and dyeing enterprises gradually improved; The turnover rate of finished products is 13.10 times/year, up 2.65% year on year; The turnover rate of accounts receivable was 7.90 times/year, up 6.94% year on year; The turnover rate of total assets was 0.88 times/year, up 6.92% year on year. The main operating efficiency indicators have improved over the same period last year, and the quality of enterprise operations has gradually improved.

In terms of benefits, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, the operating income of printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size was 68.076 billion yuan, up 11.36% year on year; The total profit was 2.060 billion yuan, up 111.53% year on year; Cost profit rate was 3.19%, up 1.53 percentage points year on year; The sales profit margin was 3.03%, up 1.44 percentage points year on year. 777 printing and dyeing enterprises above designated size had 769 loss making households, with a loss rate of 43.28%, down 2.16 percentage points year on year; The total loss of loss making enterprises was 1.291 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.57%. With the gradual recovery of market demand, the production of enterprises has grown rapidly, and the level of industrial efficiency has improved significantly. The total profit has doubled on the basis of a lower base in the same period of last year. The sales profit rate has reached the highest level in the same period since 2020, and the total loss of loss making enterprises has significantly decreased. At the same time, it should also be noted that the current printing and dyeing industry is still on the high side of loss, 9.58 percentage points higher than the whole textile industry. The profitability of printing and dyeing enterprises with different products, different scales and different business models is unbalanced, and some processing SMEs are still in a loss state.

International demand is gradually warming up

The export scale has increased steadily

According to the statistics of China Customs, from January to March 2024, the export volume of eight categories of printing and dyeing products was 7.582 billion meters, up 6.54% year on year, and the export value was 7.324 billion dollars, up 4.95% year on year, with the growth rate accelerating by 7.37 and 14.10 percentage points compared with the same period last year; The average export unit price was 0.97 US dollars/meter, down 1.49% year on year, and the decline was 6.89 percentage points lower than the same period last year. In the first quarter, the direct export of major printing and dyeing products kept growing. First, due to the low base effect, the export of printing and dyeing industry was under pressure in the same period of last year, and the export scale of products declined; Second, since this year, the world economy has shown signs of recovery, foreign demand tends to improve, and exports are better than expected. It should be noted that the average export unit price of eight categories of printing and dyeing products in the first quarter continued the downward trend in 2023, and the pressure of export competition in the industry has not been effectively alleviated.

In the first quarter, the export volume of China's eight categories of printing and dyeing products to ASEAN and RCEP trading countries increased by 8.40% and 7.23% respectively, and the average export unit price increased by 3.26% and 2.04% respectively, which were higher than the overall export growth. From the perspective of major single countries, the export to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Brazil, India and other countries has achieved rapid growth, of which the export to Vietnam has the most obvious growth, with the export volume and export amount increasing significantly by 32.07% and 38.59% year on year respectively; Exports to Indonesia, Myanmar, Russia, Pakistan and other countries showed a trend of simultaneous decline in volume and price, of which Indonesia and Russia suffered year-on-year decline mainly due to the high base in the same period last year, while Pakistan continued the downward trend since 2023.

On the whole, in the first quarter, the economic operation of China's printing and dyeing industry started steadily and made progress in a steady way. The main economic indicators maintained a good growth trend, the confidence of enterprises continued to improve, and the momentum of economic recovery was further strengthened. Looking forward to the second quarter and the whole year, the international situation facing the printing and dyeing industry is still complex and severe. The global economy is still in the recovery period, the spillover effect of high inflation will still have a long-term impact on the economic recovery process, and the endogenous impetus for improving external demand needs to be consolidated; Geopolitical conflicts and disturbances are still going on, and international trade protectionism is intensifying, which has a lasting impact on the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and will also increase the cost of economic operation, which poses a challenge to the foreign trade of China's printing and dyeing industry. However, it should also be noted that the positive factors supporting the recovery of the industry economy are also accumulating. The stable and good macroeconomic situation provides a solid guarantee for promoting the steady development of the industry. A powerful and effective policy combination will boost the confidence of the industry's development, improve development expectations, and provide an important opportunity for the high-quality development of the industry with the super large-scale domestic demand market potential and the consumption upgrading trend. In the next step, the industry should continue to make efforts in transforming the mode, adjusting the structure, improving the quality, and increasing benefits, and lead the "year round stability" with a "stable start" to constantly consolidate and enhance the economic recovery trend.

(Source: China Printing and Dyeing Industry Association)