Supply Chain Research

American apparel manufacturers may not yet have seen the growth that trade data shows their overseas competitors have. Panjiva data shows imports of fabrics, and specifically synthetics, fell 11% in October after a 72% drop in products from Turkey. There should be some optimism though – shipment data showed a 17% increase in November. Additionally, there are signs of imports of polyester and nylon threads rising, by 15% and 13% respectively in November. Long term, Lenzing’s expansion in Alabama suggests demand for threads should be robust. The strongest part of the value chain has been i...