The International Trade on Textile Industries - Coursework Example

THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON TEXTILE INDUSTRIES Introduction International trade and globalization has naturally opened doors for small and large entrepreneurial entities around the globe to be able to market their products into other areas of the world and garner a larger scope of profit from their target markets. Undeniably, through this process the once cottage based creation of textiles has now taken a greater level of production sophistication. In this paper, investigating on the history and the developments as well as the current status of the textile industry in the face of global trade and how well is it coping up with the growing challenges of financing systems in the business. To be given further description with regards the status of the said industry in the current world economic systems; diagrams are to be presented so as to give visual clarifications with regards the different elemental factors making up the entire industry then and now. The International Textile Industries The birth of the world of textile production dates back in 1350’s. Of course, the production of textile is an inevitable part of the human society since humans need clothing to live. Understandably though, the process of producing textiles back then is not as complicated as it is today. Back then , the system of operation happens within cottages of housewives who are rather appointed to turn fleece into cloths that would be much useful for creating clothing for the people in the community. The process of doing so involves certain procedures that could be manually attained. As years develop towards the present generations of humans civilization, the process of manufacturing cloth to turn into textiles have gained a certain sophistication that clothing lines are now not simply made for clothing but for style. During the era of the Industrial Revolution, it could be noticed that the industry of textile production was forced to draw down their distribution prices as they ought to produce the same amount of clothing for the higher demand of the product for a community of people that does not have enough to spend for their clothing. IT was one of the most trying times of the industry. Nevertheless, it survived. It could be noted that through the appreciation of the society towards the produced items of small textile firms before, the industry widened its scopes and now, all over the world, several huge textile companies are able to supply textile to different areas of the globe. Through international trade, the said industry was even enriched with the fact that the possibility of exchanging textiles from one country to another has already become a huge trend in the international trade today. Yes, among many products, textile is one of the most accepted ones. The market never stops buying clothing lines that they do not only need, but they want. With the emergence of fashion styles and numerous designers around the globe, textile production needed to adjust to the needs and tastes of the people. Rather than simply thinking of producing for the need, 70% of the textile production at present is already dependent on the demands of the people based on the current trend being set by the fashion designers and their respective endorsers. Now more than ever, the production of textile has reached its peak. However, because of the existence of sophisticated machines, the undeniable growth in the number of automatically made textile finishes increases while the number of manual workers decreases. Of course, this is good news to the manufacturers since paying for electric bills is much cheaper than paying for a hundred or even a thousand human labor. Likely, the process of advancing technology has both its advantages and disadvantages in the field of textile production. Although entrepreneurs in the said industry may say that they already did all to keep much of the people they could to give work to, it could never be denied that the drop down in the number of employed people in the industry affects the process by which the business operates as well. It should be observed though that what the business operators in the textile industry are after is that of the mass production with less chances of loosing quality in the long run. This is believed to something that could not be given care by manual workers alone. People wore out and at times get less motivated to work, whereas machines are programmed to do the work they need to finish in a way that they are expected to do for a long time, and if they do wore out all that needs to be done is to repair them or if not exchange them for a newer system that would sure give out better results of higher number of yielded textile produce. Today, the textile industry remains as a strong entity in the field of international economic standing. Considerably, through this realization it could be noted that the said industry would be able to withstand the different financial and economic downfall experienced by the whole world at present. Significant Elements that Make Up the Textile Industry Today REAL GDP RATE of TEXTILE Industries: It is very important to take notice of the real GDP rate of the textile industry so as to ensure that it is somehow making progress if not being stabilized through the years even beyond the modern financing challenges in the international scene of business ventures. In the diagram that follows, the textile industry’s real GDP rate is presented This diagram notes the down slope of the industry from years 1998 towards the year 2007. Caused by several lowering factors that affected the demand for textiles, many people now are opting to buy second hands and those that are produced in the industry are usually given to the legitimately high-end producers of fashion trendy clothing that they offer to the society. However, because of the cost of the said products, not everyone in the society is able to buy the said end products. Although the slope of the graph may seem drastic, this does not actually pertain to an industrial downfall on the part of the business institutions making up the textile industry as finding ways to market their produced product into a larger scope of market is now made possible through the use of modern technology and business virtualization. Demand and Supply Margin: Another determining factor in the field of textile industries is that of the supply and demand margin in the market. It is through this particular matter that the level of production of certain types of textiles could be given a careful view and evaluation as to how much the process is able to give provision to the demands of the public and how well they are faring in distributing their end products to the end users. The diagram below shall show a brief overview on how the recent years pertain to the performance of the said industry in the world trade systems. In the diagram above, noting the advancement from year 1988 towards 1998, it could be observed how the decline of production and textile manufacturing twisted the situation within ten years of operation. However, even though this is the case, the industry is now shifting to other means of providing textile to the society in a much lowered amount of production allowing them the chance to distribute their products in a much lower prices that could be accepted and appreciated by the majority of the people who are interested and are in need of the end products of the said industry. The table below notes the level of textile exchange only in the US from years 1997-2001 showing proof that the industry still gains profit even though the diagrammatic presentations above show that somehow the demand for clothing textile has lowered down in rate. Table I-3. U.S. Shipments of Products from Textile Mills 1997-2001 ($ Millions) NAICS Description 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Percent Change 1997-2001 3141 Textile Furnishings Mills 20,296 20,658 21,119 22,436 21,793 7% 31411 Carpet and Rugs 11,493 12,070 11,686 12,748 12,659 10% 31412 Curtains, Linens and Household Products 8,803 8,588 9,433 9,688 9,134 4%                 3149 Other Textile Product Mills 10,756 10,479 11,570 11,219 10,178 -5% 31491 Textile Bags and Canvas 2,502 2,516 2,606 2,598 2,464 -2% 314991 Rope, Cordage and Twine 777 766 804 821 809 4% 314992 Tire Cordage and Tire Fabric 1,269 1,300 1,428 1,479 1,038 -18% 314999 Products not listed elsewhere 6,208 5,897 6,732 6,321 5,867 -5%                   Total 31,052 31,137 32,689 33,654 31,971 3% Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Annual Survey of Manufactures The normative increase in the level of shipment notes the possible increase in sales in the said country with regards textile distribution hence rather assuring the continuous growth of the industry in the coming years. Apparently, shifting from plain clothes to producing other end-products from textile is a rather effective move for those making up the industry. Price Marks and International Financial Crisis: Since the beginning of the issue on recession, the pressure on lowering price rates has grew even much harder on the part of industries of regular products such as that of the textile division. Understandably, majority of the people like to spend less on the less important things in their lives which now includes clothing. Hence, to attract buyers, many entities in the industry of textile production decided to cut down on the price as demanded by the presentation below: In this diagram the implication on the fact that price determination is controlled by the willingness of the buying public to spend money brings about much pressure on the end producers of textile today. Employment and Unemployment Issues: As earlier mentioned, modern technology is already invading the field of modern textile production. Hence, as a result, lesser number of laboring manufacturers of the product are needed and less manual workers are employed. The change of the situation could be realized through the diagrammatic presentation below: With this diagram in mind, it could be considered that from year 1988 towards the year 2001, the decline of the working force in the textile industry has gained a drastic change in the process by which textiles are mass produced for a larger and massive distribution as aimed by the entrepreneurs within the industry. Conclusion Through the discussions and presentations handled in this paper, it could be noted true that the textile industry, like many industries today, is facing huge challenges of lowering their prices to allow a more profitable mass consumption from the public. Through the examination of the stance of the industry in the current economic situation that world is at a grope today, it is the main concern of the producers in the textile industry to further the service they give the people while actually being able to reach their annual profit goal. The challenge may not be that easy to pass, but there is nothing impossible when strategic business management is applied in the process. References: Cotton: Origin, History, Technology, and Production By C. Wayne Smith, Joe Tom Cothren. Page viii. Published 1999. John Wiley and Sons. Technology & Industrial Arts. 864 page Read More