BRIEFING: An overview of Chinese sewing machinery

By 2003 60% of the world’s sewing machines were made in China, accounting for a gross industrial output of 23bn Yuan (US$2.78bn), a ten fold increase over 1984 figures, the year the China Sewing Machinery Association was formed. Approximately 20% of these are produced on behalf of overseas companies such as Juki, Brother, Pfaff, Sunstar, Barudan, Tajima, etc. The 2003 export market for sewing machines produced in China accounted for an estimated US$700.16m, of which, US$318.6m accounted for industrial sewing machines, over US$60.3m in embroidery machines, and US$103.4m in parts and components. This briefing profiles the major industrial and embroidery machine makers, providing apparel manufacturers with a detailed overview of one of China's hottest exports.