After seeing capital investment expansion in the Chinese textile and apparel complex slow to single-digit increases in February, growth re-accelerated in March and April, with cumulative fixed asset investment climbing 17.0% from the same period in 2007. The renewed expansion is occurring in textiles (up 13.4%) and apparel, footwear, and headwear manufacturing (+19.7%), but new investment in the chemical fiber industry (+29.5%) is seeing the biggest increase in FAI so far in 2008.
Even with these resurgent cumulative increases in 2008, the “smart money” in China slowly continues to migrate away from textiles and apparel. Total capital investment in manufacturing in China is up 31.2% through April, for the first time growing faster than investment in textiles and apparel, implying there are relatively fewer manufacturing investment dollars going into new capital projects geared to textiles and apparel in China.
Even with these resurgent cumulative increases in 2008, the “smart money” in China slowly continues to migrate away from textiles and apparel. Total capital investment in manufacturing in China is up 31.2% through April, for the first time growing faster than investment in textiles and apparel, implying there are relatively fewer manufacturing investment dollars going into new capital projects geared to textiles and apparel in China.
