Textile prices, like many raw materials, are soaring on resurgent demand, and the rocketing cost of energy and transport, industry experts say.
The price of cotton, linen, silk and wool, as well as synthetic materials derived from petroleum, have in the past few months surged, boosted also by the global supply-chain crunch.
As a result, red-hot inflation has become a major talking point at the industry’s London Fashion Week showpiece, which runs until Thursday.
Photo: AFP
Price hikes represent a new challenge for the industry, which was first struck by Brexit and then by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The textile and clothing industry noticed an impressive surge in cotton prices,” the European association of textile producers, Euratex, said in a statement.
“The restart of activity worldwide in 2021 and the increased demand from the textile industry have accelerated the mechanism of [market] tension on raw materials,” it added. “This has resulted in a shortage and rising material costs.”
Cotton, which had last year surged almost 50 percent, peaked earlier this month at US$1.29 per pound, a level last seen in 2011.
Organic cotton from key producer India has experienced buoyant demand due to low stockpiles.
The cost of wool and flax linen rebounded between September 2020 and June last year, following an almost three-year decline.
The industry has also been spooked by the sky-high cost of oil.
“The increase in oil prices has affected the prices of synthetic fibers ... as these are produced from petroleum-based chemicals or petrochemicals,” Euratex said.
Oil had threatened to top US$100 per barrel last week on simmering tensions between Ukraine and key crude producer Russia.
“The ongoing upswing in oil prices is lending buoyancy because it increases the price of synthetic fibers that compete with cotton,” Commerzbank AG analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
The price of synthetic fibers, such as acrylics, nylon and polyester, has shot up.
Textiles also face the same snarled-up supply chains that have plagued economies worldwide.
Retailers and manufacturers are expected to struggle to meet rebounding demand, particularly for cotton, commentators have said.
“Demand is strong amid inflation concerns and logistical issues that make it harder for world buyers to source any cotton anywhere,” Price Group analyst Jack Scoville said.
Importers and exporters face a huge spike in transport costs, as reopening economies create feverish demand for container shipping.
Rogie Sussman Faber, owner of Chicago area company Vogue Fabrics Inc, said that transportation is their biggest issue.
“Here in the USA, we are more affected by the sharp rise in shipping than the price of the materials,” Faber said.
Onward transport from the port of Chicago compounds that heavy burden, mirroring transit problems seen elsewhere.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
RSS