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Apparel Industry Research

1. Industry Analysis
2. Articles from Trade Journals
3. Companies
4. Trade Data
5. Production
6. Employment

Related guide:
Retail Industy Research

1. Industry Analysis

General sources | Apparel-specific sources

a. General sources

IBIS Industry Market Research

• Provides 25 to 45-page industry reports for all 5-digit NAICS codes, including retailing and textiles.
• Each report includes statistics, industry structure, product & customer segmentation,
• ance analysis, major players & market share, external drivers, 5-year forecasts with forecast analysis, and more.
• Reports are updated three or four times a year.

S&P NetAdvantage: Industry Surveys

• 30-40 page industry surveys updated twice a year.
• Includes "Apparel & Footwear," "Retailing: General," and "Retailing: Specialty," among other industries.
• Topics in each survey include current environment, industry profile, glossary, industry references (sources of more information), composite industry data, and comparative company analysis.

MarketLine Business Information

• Covers 2,000 international industries, including apparel retailing.
• Each industry profile includes 5-year historical and 5-year forecast market values, volume, and shares, segmentations, and analyses of trends, major players, and the competitive landscape.

Euromonitor Global Market Information Database

• Focuses on the apparel, food, drinks, and personal care products industries.
• Provides full text market research reports as well as company overviews and analysis, market share, brands, brand share, and financial breakdowns by product categories.
• Video on getting started with GMID

OneSource Global (select "International Businesses" in ReferenceUSA)

• Provides industry & market reports from Datamonitor, Freedonia, Business Monitor International, and STAT-USA/NTDB Industry Sector Analysis (use the "Industries" section).
• Also provides the full text of RMA Annual Statement Studies (industry ratios) in PDF format (use the "Industries" section).

See the Industry Analysis guide for more general sources.

b. Apparel-specific sources

Plunkett's Apparel & Textiles Industry Almanac 2008
Reference HF5429.3 P580

• Covers major trends and industry statistics, and provides one-page profiles of the 350 "biggest, most successful corporations in all segments of the apparel and textiles industry."
• Focuses on the United States.

National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

• An advocacy group for the US textiles industry.
• Provides research and opinion on the state of the industry, trade issues, regulation, and more.

American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)

• Provides free press releases, industry statistics, and more.

2. Articles from Trade Journals

CARS Databases
Need to find articles on a specific topic? Try one of these databases.

Textile Journals not Online
The following are not available online in any database or on the web, but are are available from the Jackson Library Reading Room.

Fiber Organon: A Monthly Review of Manufactured Fiber Information 
Provides statistics on fiber production, consumption, trade, and other topics. Published by the Fiber Economic Bureau. More info

Textile Outlook International: Business and Market Analysis for the Textile and Apparel Industries 
Provides long and detailed articles. More info

Performance Apparel Markets
"Business and market analysis of worldwide trends in high performance activewear and corporate apparel." More info

3. Companies

General sources | Textile manufactures | Apparel manufactures

a. General sources 

ReferenceUSA

• Provides short descriptions of 14 million U.S. companies.

MarketLine Business Information Centre

• Provides detailed descriptions for 10,000 companies.

Euromonitor Global Market Information Database

• Focuses on the apparel, food, drinks, and personal care products industries.
• Provides company overviews and analysis, market share, brands, brand share, and financial breakdowns by product categories.

See the Companies section of the CARS databases for more

b. Textile manufactures

Plunkett's Apparel & Textiles Industry Almanac 2008
Reference HF5429.3 P580

• Focuses on the United States.
• Covers major trends and industry statistics, and provides one-page profiles of the 350 "biggest, most successful corporations in all segments of the apparel and textiles industry."

Davison's Textile Blue Book
Reference TS1312 .B6

• An annual directory that lists mills, dyers, and finishers in North America by state and city.
• It also lists fabric and yarn resources, dyers and finishers, converters, educational institutions, and associations.

FashionDex Directories and Sourcebooks

• Use the links across the top or side to access listings for fabric, trims, services, contractors, and manufacturers.
• Listings usually include address, labels, products, and showrooms.

c. Apparel manufactures

National Register of Apparel Manufactures: Men and Boy's Wear
Reference HD9940 .U3 N315 2005

• Lists over 2,600 companies by state and city.
• Includes indexes by company and label, activity, category, and capability.

National Register of Apparel Manufactures: Women and Children's Wear
Reference HD9940 .U3 N316 2004

• Lists over 3,500 companies by state and city.
• Includes indexes by company and label, activity, and category.

National Register of Fashion Accessories
Reference HD9940 .U3 N3370 2004

• Lists thousands of companies by state and city.
• Covers handbags, jewelry, footwear, eye wear, leather goods, and more.

National Register of the Apparel Marketplace
Reference HD9940 .U3 N317 2003

• Lists over 3,500 companies by state and city.
• Covers distributors, jobbers, private label agents, retailers, production-sourcing agents, and US & Foreign Buying Offices.

4. Trade Data

Introduction and guide | Textile-specific data

a. Introduction and guide:

Trade Data: what it is and how to get it
Covers commodity codes and trade data sources.

b. Textile-specific data:

OTEXA
The Office of Textile and Apparel from the U.S. Department of Commerce provides this "one-stop resource for exporting US-made textile and apparel products".

Textile Outlook International: Business and Market Analysis for the Textile and Apparel Industries
A journal available in the Jackson Reading Room. Regularly covers trade data and issues.

Fiber Organon: A Monthly Review of Manufactured Fiber Information
A journal available in the Jackson Reading Room. Provides trade data on fibers.

5. Production

Introduction to NAICS & SIC Codes
These are industry codes used by many of the below sources.

Annual Survey of Manufactures

• From the Census.
• Provides employment, wages, production, cost, shipment values, capital expenditures, and inventory data by NAICS code (313, 314, and 315 cover textiles and apparel).
• There's also a state-level version.

Current Industrial Reports, U.S. Census

• Provides current and historical data on production and exports.
• Covers textile mills, textile product mills, and apparel manufacturing.

Manufacturing & Distribution USA 2009

• Provides statistics on 614 industries, listed by NAICS codes.
• The statistics include the number of establishments, employment, wages, production, selected ratios, leading companies, materials consumed, product share, and industry data by state.
• The various indexes are in the third volume. Look for textile and apparel manufacturing in volume one (NAICS 313-315) and apparel stores in volume three (NAICS 448).

Fiber Organon: A Monthly Review of Manufactured Fiber Information

• A journal available in the Jackson Reading Room.
• Provides U.S. and worldwide production, consumption, and trade data.
• This is not available online, so you just have to browse through the issues and see what's inside.
• Most of the data is from industry groups and is not available any place else.

Economic Census Data (2007)

Conducted every five years (years ending in -2 and -7), the Economic Census provides more detailed geographical breakdowns and more detailed data, including:

• number of establishments
• number of employees
• payroll
• production & value added
• total sales
• product-level production in each NAICS code

2007 Economic Census

• Data from 2007 is slowly being released.
• Summary data on U.S. retailing is now available.
• More detailed data is coming...

6. Employment

See also the Economic Census above.

Annual Survey of Manufactures

• From the Census.
• Provides employment, wages, production, cost, shipment values, capital expenditures, and inventory data by NAICS code (313, 314, and 315 for textiles).
• There's also a state-level version.

County Business Patterns (also provides state-level data)

• From the Census.
• Includes employment and number of business establishments by NAICS code (313, 314, and 315 for textiles).

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor

• Look for the employment and unemployment section in the upper left.
• Another useful service is Create Customized Tables (you can choose an industry and state).

Manufacturing & Distribution USA 2009 (5th edition)

• Provides statistics on 614 industries, listed by NAICS codes.
• The statistics include the number of establishments, employment, wages, production, selected ratios, leading companies, materials consumed, product share, and industry data by state.
• The various indexes are in the third volume.