China’s analog X-ray machines are gobbling up U.S. film supply

Film may be going the way of the dodo, but not in China where it’s gaining popularity for use in analog X-ray machines in many of the nation’s estimated 20,000 hospitals and smaller clinics. That’s led to a massive uptick in business for US-based film exporters.

Light-sensitive film was a technical achievement mastered by Americans. It was dominated by once-mighty industrial giant Eastman Kodak for decades. Now, just as film seems on the brink of obsolescence, US film exports are experiencing an unlikely resurgence.