Business conditions across the global textile value chain weakened for a second straight reading in July, according to the International Textile Manufacturers Federation’s latest industry survey, even as manufacturers in South Asia and Africa continued to voice relatively stronger confidence than their peers elsewhere.
The 39th edition of ITMF’s Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from July 14 to 22 among companies spanning the entire textile value chain, found that just 10% of respondents rated their current business situation as good, while 53% called it satisfactory and 37% described it as bad. That yielded a balance of -26 percentage points, down sharply from -17pp in May, though still above the lows recorded during the 2023 downturn.
Every region surveyed was in negative territory for the first time in this reading, ITMF said, ranging from a relatively mild -3pp in South Asia — a region that includes Bangladesh, India and Pakistan — to a steep -58pp in North and Central America. Among industry segments, brands and retailers were the sole group to report a positive balance, at +11pp, while machinery manufacturers logged the weakest reading at -40pp. Garment producers saw one of the sharpest reversals, sliding from +5pp in May to -25pp in July.
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Despite the softer current readings, expectations for the coming six months held in mildly positive territory, easing only slightly to +14pp from +16pp in May. Nearly half of respondents, 47%, said they expected no change in conditions over that period. Africa was the most optimistic region at +50pp, followed by South Asia at +32pp, while machinery manufacturers were the most confident industry segment at +36pp — a notable divergence from that same segment’s weak current-conditions reading.
Order intake reversed course after appearing to stabilize in the previous survey, falling to -27pp from -9pp in May, which ITMF said suggested the May figure had been an outlier rather than the start of a recovery. The average order backlog across respondents narrowed to 2.3 months, while global capacity utilization slipped to 71%, with South-East Asian mills running fullest at 75% and North American plants trailing at 64%.
Weak demand remained the industry’s most-cited concern, flagged by 56% of respondents, followed by geopolitical uncertainty at 46%. Worries over raw material prices, energy costs and tariffs all eased in the latest survey. Tariff concerns in particular have receded sharply, cited by just 10% of respondents versus a peak of 40% in September 2025, reflecting a period of relative de-escalation in trade friction since last year. Order cancellations fell to 2% globally, and ITMF’s inventory index improved, though it remained below its historical average, with stock levels continuing to build at brands and retailers even as upstream spinning and weaving segments kept inventories lean.
ITMF, the Zurich-based federation representing national textile associations and companies across the value chain, has run the GTIS survey continuously since its introduction, tracking sentiment through the pandemic, the 2023 downturn and last year’s tariff volatility. The next survey is expected in the coming months as the federation continues to monitor how demand, energy costs and trade policy shifts are reshaping order books across manufacturing regions.