Euratex, the European apparel and textile confederation, has published an Economic Update: The Textile and Clothing industry evolution during Q4 2024 and prospects for 2025.

During Q4, the report said that the clothing sector experienced a significant rebound in production (up 6.3% compared to the previous quarter) and sales (up 2.7%) while textile production was down for the 11th consecutive quarter. Euratex suggests that economic uncertainty is making consumers cautious about spending and businesses hesitant to invest. The association also points to persistently higher energy costs in Europe (compared to Asia and North America), bureaucratic hurdles, and the cost of compliance with new regulations as some of the the key challenges for companies.

The report outlines production volumes for manufacturing, man-made fibres, textiles and clothing, as well as employment, turnover and producer prices. It also reveals import and export statistics, business confidence, and expectations. UKFT is a member of Euratex.

The T&C sector showed stable economic performances during the fourth quarter of 2023, as a result of slowly improving market conditions. The textile industry managed to stabilise business activity, on a quarter-to-quarter basis. In the clothing segment, turnover evolution brightened only marginally, while output reported a slight drop. Similarly, the labour market evolution remained broadly stable in the textile industry but indicated a slight decline in the clothing sector. Besides labour shortages and weak demand, input costs were still impacting companies in the sector. Finally, the EU27 trade deficit improved, resulting mainly from a decrease in clothing imports and more dynamic exports.

These trends are in line with the broader economic performance of the European economy. The European Commission reported[1] that the real GDP barely grew in the first three quarters of 2023 and contracted towards year-end. The loss of growth momentum has been underpinned by the lack of a solid growth driver, with weakness especially in consumption but also on the external side. Increasing wages, continued employment growth and further slowing of inflation are expected to lift the purchasing power of households in 2024 and 2025, boosting consumption. According to the Commission forecasts, economic activity is expected to gradually pick up, with EU GDP increasing by 1.3% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025.

Looking forward, the business sentiment in the textile and clothing industry is improving and getting closer to the long term average, suggesting that economic activity will expand in the first half of 2024. The EU Business Confidence² indicator for the months ahead picked up in the clothing industry, driven by an improvement of all its components (i.e. managers’ expectations of production for the months ahead, their assessment of order-book levels and adequacy of stocks of finished products). Also the business sentiment in the textile sector improved in March, as managers were somewhat more positive about their production expectations and the adequacy of stocks of finished products. By contrast, the assessment of order-book levels in the textile industry deteriorated.

Find more industry statistics and data on the fashion and textile industry on the link below.

INDUSTRY STATISTICS & DATA