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Article: Suppliers cautious as merchants spend. (Capital Spending suppliers).
- Article from:
- Home Textiles Today
- Article date:
- June 23, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK -- Battered by imports and stuck with excess capacity, then hampered by weakening retail sales and a soft re-order position, American home fashions producers have cut their capital spending to the bone, with most of this year's outlays going for routine maintenance and systems updates rather than new looms or equipment.
As recently as half a dozen years ago, it was not uncommon for a home textiles producer to spend in excess of 7 percent or 8 percent of annual sales on new equipment to boost production and cut costs. Now it's more like low single-digits. Even such a formidable, and profitable, player as Mohawk Industries, is spending less than 3 percent ...