The Sewing Machinery Industry Faces Challenges Such As Imbalance Of Labor Supply And Demand

At the fifth meeting of the eighth session of the China Sewing Machinery Association held not long ago, the China Sewing Machinery Association issued the Report on Economic Operation Analysis of China Sewing Machinery Industry in 2009, pointing out that in 2009, China's sewing machinery industry suffered the lowest development in the past decade, and also ushered in a strong signal of recovery after the crisis. Under the complex situation of continuous downturn of external demand and steady growth of domestic demand, the industry adhered to the scientific outlook on development, accelerated independent innovation, changed the business mode of enterprises, further adjusted the product structure, promoted industrial upgrading, and achieved stable and healthy development of the industry during the adjustment and transformation period. Combined with the industry data in the report, the author analyzed the current situation of the industry development, and pointed out that the imbalance of labor supply and demand, the lagging recovery of supporting industries, low labor productivity, and weak self-adjusting ability have become the four major bottlenecks restricting the development of China's sewing machinery industry.

Pendulum situation

The economy stops falling and recovers, and the industry recovers significantly

Since 2007, the demand for world sewing machinery products has been declining. For 20 consecutive months, the gross industrial output value of China's sewing machinery industry has shown a negative growth, with an average annual decline of more than 20%, and the output decline of more than 50%. After entering 2009, the output value and output continued to decline year on year, but the decline narrowed month by month. In September 2009, it turned to a positive growth year on year, with a year-on-year increase of more than 20% in the fourth quarter. China's sewing machinery industry began to develop steadily and steadily, with an obvious recovery momentum. Taking the output value data of 97 key complete machine enterprises in China's sewing machinery industry as an example, the industry output value in 2008 showed a continuous downward trend year on year. By the first quarter of 2009, the industry suffered the lowest development in nearly ten years, with the output value declining by more than 50% year on year, and the output value falling to about half of the peak period of the industry; By the second quarter of 2009, the industrial output value still maintained a decline of more than 30%, but the decline was significantly reduced compared with the first quarter; By the third quarter of 2009, the decline of industrial output value had further narrowed, and by September, the output value had achieved positive growth year on year; By the fourth quarter of 2009, the industry had ushered in a new opportunity for development. Under the dual effect of the growth of domestic demand and the slowdown of export decline, the industry's output value had achieved a double-digit year-on-year growth, and the industry showed obvious signs of recovery. From the perspective of import and export, although the import and export of China's sewing machinery products continued to decline in 2009, the decline in import and export also narrowed month by month, and the prospect is worth looking forward to. The export of China's sewing machinery products has declined significantly since the end of 2008, with a decline of 40% in that month, and reached the lowest point in the first quarter of 2009, with a year-on-year decline of nearly 50%; By the second quarter, the decline was reduced to 30%; In the third and fourth quarters, the decline of industrial output further narrowed, and the decline gradually shrank to about 20%. The same is true for imports, and the industry is showing signs of recovery.

Sales are cold outside and hot inside, presenting a new situation

In 2009, China's sewing machinery sales showed a new situation of "external cooling and internal heating". Under the continuous impact of the global financial crisis, the demand of the international market for sewing machines has faced severe challenges. The export of China's sewing machinery products has continued to hover at a low level. Although the decline in exports has eased due to the favorable policies such as the country's seven consecutive increases in export tax rebate rates, the export volume of sewing machines in 2009 fell by 24.47% year on year, and the export volume dropped by 20.62%, The export of products across the line experienced a cold current. Among all kinds of products, the export volume of high value-added products such as sequin embroidery and towel embroidery increased year on year due to the change of export product structure of embroidery machines, while the export volume of other products decreased at the same time. In terms of domestic sales, driven by the national textile industry revitalization plan and a series of national policies to stimulate the economy and support the industry, the domestic sewing machine market recovered significantly in the second half of 2009. In the fourth quarter, the industry sales boom was attracted, with a year-on-year growth of 50%. Affected by this, the domestic sales of sewing machine products throughout the year showed a low opening and steady growth.

Accelerated industrial adjustment

In 2009, the structural adjustment of China's sewing machinery industry accelerated. In terms of product structure adjustment, with the development and progress of industrial technology, especially the strong demand for efficient sewing equipment released by the transformation and upgrading of downstream industries, sewing machines with electric control devices in the industry have seen year-on-year growth of more than 60% for consecutive months since August. By the end of 2009, the proportion of electromechanical integration sewing equipment in the total amount of sewing equipment in China had risen to 10%, and the proportion of computer lockstitch sewing machines in the total output of lockstitch sewing machines had risen to more than 25%. Electronic pattern sewing machines, electronic keyhole sewing machines and other high-end special industrial sewing machines have basically achieved batch and industrialization. In terms of enterprise structure adjustment, according to the estimation of China Sewing Machinery Association, the proportion of enterprises above designated size in the total number of enterprises in the whole industry has increased to 68%, the proportion of output value of enterprises above designated size in the whole industry has increased to about 87%, the annual total profit and tax of enterprises above designated size has increased by 8.65%, and the total profit has increased by 26.75%, and the profitability of enterprises has gradually strengthened, The market efficiency is gradually concentrated to some enterprises above the designated size, and the industry concentration is constantly improving. At the same time, as the pace of enterprise internationalization continues to advance, Standard has set up subsidiaries in Germany, Jack has successfully acquired BULLMER and TOPCUT in Germany, Heying has set up a Japanese branch, "YIN-Japan Co., Ltd.", etc., as well as the acceleration of brand building of various enterprises, the international position and influence of the industry continue to improve, and the pace of enterprise restructuring accelerates.

The market competition is becoming more rational

Under the strong guidance of the China Sewing Machinery Association, the construction of the industry credit system in 2009 has achieved remarkable results. Stimulated by the crisis, sewing machine enterprises began to reflect on the consequences of bad competition such as credit sales and arrears. From the survey of China Sewing Machinery Association, it has gradually become the consensus of industry enterprises to reduce credit sales and arrears, and strictly control product prices. At the same time, entrepreneurs have also become more mature in the industry adjustment in 2009. Many entrepreneurs reflect on and summarize the development mode of excessive pursuit of scale in the past, and re propose to be pragmatic and rational, speed up adjustment and innovation, and strengthen and highlight the main business; There are also many entrepreneurs who, according to their own positioning, have a solid foundation for transformation, accelerate the development of new products, brand building, strengthen management, and take the road of high-quality and professional development. One year of industry practice has accumulated rich and valuable experience for entrepreneurs and accelerated the construction of entrepreneurial team.

Say the challenge

Unbalanced supply and demand of labor force, the first problem facing the industry recovery

Since the third quarter of 2009, with the gradual recovery of the industry, there has been a shortage of skilled workers in major production areas. By the end of 2009, the labor shortage of major backbone enterprises in the industry was generally more than 30%, which has become a major obstacle to the recovery of the industry. The emergence of the contradiction between labor supply and demand, on the one hand, stems from the sharp downsizing of enterprises during the industrial restructuring period in 2008 and 2009, and on the other hand, it is also due to the high mobility of enterprise employees for a long time, and the failure to effectively form a stable and reasonable team of skilled workers. With the implementation of the national economic policies and the rise of the agriculture benefiting and central and western economies, the shortage of technical personnel and rising labor costs in China's sewing machinery industry will become the norm, which will pose greater pressure on the recovery of the industry.

The recovery of supporting industries is not synchronized, testing the industry's comprehensive response capability

The development of sewing machinery industry is closely related to the development of upstream industries such as steel, energy, electronics, machinery and equipment. Due to the failure of the electronic industry to recover effectively, its supporting capacity for the chips and control components related to the sewing machine controller is obviously insufficient, resulting in the inability to synchronously recover the production capacity of the sewing machine electronic control products. Since October 2009, with the gradual recovery of the sewing machinery industry, the demand for electromechanical sewing machine products has increased significantly, and the electric control sewing machine products in the industry have been in short supply, which has delayed the recovery of the industry to a certain extent. Judging from the current situation, this adverse impact is expected to continue to the third quarter of 2010, during which the industry will bear the dual pressure of upstream and downstream industries.

Low labor productivity, affecting the industry's development potential

According to the survey and statistics of China Sewing Machinery Association, the per capita labor productivity of China's sewing machinery industry is currently less than 100000 yuan/year, of which, the total machine enterprises are about 120000 yuan/year, and the parts enterprises are even lower, about 80000 yuan/year. The average profit rate of China's sewing machinery industry is only about 5%. The low labor productivity hinders the pace of technological innovation and industrial upgrading, making the industry less attractive to social capital. Enterprises in the industry have reduced their enthusiasm for reinvestment, the industry capital is facing the trend of outflow, and the industry lacks stamina for development.

Weak self adjustment ability and growing worries about industry development

The year of 2009 is the year when the sewing machinery industry in China has the fastest pace of adjustment and the most obvious effect. However, on the whole, the scientific and technological foundation of China's sewing machinery industry has not been substantially improved, the industry has not yet made effective breakthroughs in the basic principles of sewing and the common technologies of the industry, the gap between the overall quality of products and the international advanced level has not been significantly shortened, and the enterprise's product homogenization and low price competition mode has not been completely reversed. From the characteristics of the recent industry recovery, the industry adjustment has not yet been in place, and its own adjustment ability cannot meet the effective demand of the market. The industry foundation needs to be consolidated, and the adjustment process needs to be accelerated.

Look at development

According to the prediction of OECD and other professional institutions, world trade will pick up steadily in the next few years, and the world economy is expected to achieve a low growth rate of about 1%. With the active and effective policy support of the government, there is no doubt that China's economy will continue to recover in 2010. In terms of macro policies, the country is studying and deploying to further implement the adjustment and revitalization plan of key industries, bringing benefits to the development of China's sewing machinery industry. Enterprises should actively seize the opportunity, increase investment in enterprise innovation and transformation, and further accelerate the pace of structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading. In addition, with the gradual relaxation of national financial credit, and the implementation and implementation of various fiscal and taxation, domestic and foreign trade incentives, the industry's operating burden caused by the rising prices of labor, raw materials and other production factors, as well as the tightening of fiscal and taxation, will be reduced, and the growth value of domestic demand is expected.

In terms of exports, with the impact of the crisis weakening, economies around the world are showing signs of recovery to varying degrees. From the existing data, at present, the overseas orders of China's sewing machine industry have increased significantly, and some enterprises have doubled their monthly year-on-year growth. It is expected that the external demand of the industry will increase significantly in 2010, but attention should be paid to the possible export pressure caused by the appreciation of RMB. At the same time, we must also be soberly aware that 2010 is still the key year for China's sewing machinery industry to consolidate the phased recovery achievements and promote the deepening of industrial transformation and upgrading. Various uncertainties affecting the development of the industry will also exist for a long time. To a certain extent, their constraints on the development of the industry cannot be ignored. The industry needs to actively respond to and seek development through innovation. It is urgent to reasonably apply various adjustment measures, further accelerate the adjustment speed of enterprises and improve the quality of industry recovery.

To sum up, the gross industrial product and total output of the industry in 2010 will rise significantly compared with that in 2009, and the growth rate may be greater than 10%; In terms of exports, the rapidly growing emerging markets and the slowly retreating European and American markets are likely to bring about a new situation of industry exports. It is expected that in 2010, it will be possible to achieve positive year-on-year growth. The industry should be fully prepared for sustained economic recovery.