Textile Machinery Production in Britain

Abstract

THE crucial importance of the relations between the textile industry and the textile machinery industry was emphasized in the report of the Working Party for the Cotton Industry, which recorded the broad impression that there is a clear need for more effort in Great Britain in regard to the perfection of the design of the machinery and the development of new methods of processing. This report has now been followed by a broadsheet (No. 252), in which Political and Economic Planning sets forth the facts and findings of a preliminary survey of the textile industry. The War has given rise to a very large accumulated demand for textile machinery from all textile manufacturing countries, since they have been unable to obtain new machinery for six years. Normal obsolescence requirements have been accelerated by production at high pressure with a minimum of maintenance, and total demand for textile machinery is likely to remain at a high level for years. Moreover, Germany and Japan are for the moment almost completely out of the picture, and the United States, the only other country with a large potential capacity, is at present preoccupied with its domestic market and. was never a large exporter of textile machinery. For the time being, the task of satisfying world demand will in the main fall upon the British industry, and in view of the need to encourage exports with favourable long-term prospects, P.E.P. suggests that textile machinery should be given a high priority, in respect both of the allocation of labour and raw materials and the proportion of output devoted to export.