Where next for China's knitwear industry?

摘要

With the biennial textile machinery show ShanghaiTex due to take place in June, it is timely to reflect on China's continuing dominance of the world's knitwear industry. While there is much talk of a slowdown in China, certain areas of its knitwear industry are growing significantly and mark the maturation of China as a manufacturing nation. Labour costs have risen in China, a factor which is pushing its knitwear economy in the direction of less labour intensive activity. While labour-intensive cut and sew manufacturing is increasingly taking place offshore in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh, less labour intensive areas such as production of fully fashioned knitwear are faring relatively well.