Is there a future for garment near-shoring?
Report description
This latest addition to the just-style portfolio of reports begins with a definition of nearshoring before addressing whether it has any future.
The report sets out the current landscape within the textile and garment industry where employment is less than half what it was in 2005, and most rich-countries’ domestic garment manufacture around a third of its 2005 level.
Without some dramatic shift in the global economy, there seems little chance of the apparel or textile industry in today’s developed countries matching the scale of the industry 30 years ago.
The report looks at the trends and reasons for offshoring having been the norm since 1989 and why nearshoring has now come to the fore and why manufacturing closer to home can be more profitable.
It touches on the effects of wages, raw material prices, energy prices, cost of capital, and the effect of these influences on export prices.
To conclude, the report focusses on four case histories to back up the observations made in the report.
Data provided includes:
Source of all apparel on sale, 2011
Domestic apparel manufacture as % of total market
Textile workforce by country (000s)
Apparel workforce by country (000s)
Annual change in apparel volumes bought: Jan-June 2012 on 2011
Percentage of all imports nearshored, by category, 2011
Garments onshored in major European countries, by category
Internationalisation of sourcing strategies
Top ten apparel trading nations and vertical integration
Table of contents
Market share and recent trends
In context
EU national differences
Output seems to have fallen faster than the workforce
Public reaction
In the US:
In the UK:
Product strengths
Nearshoring
Onshoring
United States
Europe
Other tasks
Chapter 2 How we got here
The terms we use
Who makes what decisions?
Who is maximising what?
What do stakeholders want?
What are the sourcing alternatives?
How do you define where a garment is made?
History of offshoring: Antiquity to 1989
Textiles
Garments
Vertical integration
Government interference
History of offshoring: 1989-2012
Communism had suppressed economic growth in the developing world
Tariff and quota walls
Retailer and brand philosophies
Communications improved
The home country started ceasing to be the brands' focus
Summary of global picture: 2012
The transformation of Customs restraints
Western rulemaking
Developing country protectionism
Source of garment making
Vertical integration
Labour costs, availability and retention
Vertical integration
Chapter 3 What should be done about it?
Why has closeshoring become such an issue?
Can the genies be put back?
The developing world will go on developing
Western tariff walls will not be rebuilt
Improved communications will continue to make remote management easier
Will the home market continue to become increasingly unimportant?
The crucial question: will buyer philosophies change?
Judgements about China are not the most important question
Why manufacturing closer to home can be more profitable
But re-sourcing is a low priority for all buyers
Case Histories
Case History 1: A tale of two regions
Case History 2: A tale of two retailers
Case History 3: Exploiting immigrants
List of tables
Table 1: Source of all apparel on sale, 2011
Table 2: Textile workforce by country (000s)
Table 3: Apparel workforce by country (000s)
Table 4: Domestic apparel manufacture as % of total market
Table 5: Percentage of all imports nearshored, by category
Table 6: Garments onshored in major European countries, by category
Table 7: US apparel industry, May 2012 Employees by specific job
Table 7: US apparel industry, May 2012 Employees by specific job (Continued)
Table 7: US apparel industry, May 2012 Employees by specific job (Continued)
Table 7: US apparel industry, May 2012 Employees by specific job (Continued)
Table 8: Internationalisation of sourcing strategies
Table 9: Share of EU-15 garment market (in pieces)
Table 10: Share of US garment imports (in pieces)
Table 11: Top ten apparel trading nations and vertical integration
Related research categories
By sector: Trade and sourcing
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