According to Organ Needle Co., Ltd., orders for household sewing machine needles have been growing at a rapid rate in April.
As a result of the spreading coronavirus, needles for sewing masks at home are in greater demand. Orders for the domestic market are more than twofold greater than the usual amount, and those for exports to Europe and the U.S. are more than four times greater.
Meanwhile, shipments of industrial sewing machine needles are in a difficult situation due to the suspension of operations at garment factories and customs procedures due to the coronavirus, and orders are sluggish for shipments to the Japanese domestic market and exports.
Japanese domestic sales of household sewing machine needles began to gradually grow in February, and increased sharply in April. As of April 21st, orders were 2 to 2.5 times greater than usual. Exports to Europe and the U.S. were four to five times greater.