Certain Textile Articles: Performance Outerwear

摘要

There is relatively little production of performance outerwear jackets and pants in theUnited States, as most firms have reportedly moved production offshore, primarily to Asia.Thirteen U.S. companies reported producing performance outerwear jackets and pants duringthe study period. U.S. production of performance outerwear jackets and pants totaled anestimated 904,000 pieces in 2005 and about 650,000 pieces in 2006, while the value of U.S.shipments of domestic production totaled an estimated $83 million (875,000 pieces) in 2005and about $52 million (636,000 pieces) in 2006. Of total U.S. shipments in 2006, over one-half of the quantity (over 70 percent by value) was shipped to the U.S. military andgovernment, with the remainder sold domestically for commercial (non-military) use.Although market data for this narrow product category are unavailable, domestic productionlikely accounted for a small share of the total U.S. market for the subject goods.Ten U.S. companies reported producing fabrics for use in performance outerwear jackets andpants. Shipments of domestically produced fabrics used in performance outerwear totaledan estimated $142 million in 2006, down 23 percent from 2005 levels (which were about$183 million), and included both shell and lining fabrics, as well as fabrics that were shippedfor further processing before use in performance outerwear. Domestic production of finishedwater-resistant fabrics for use in the outer shell of performance outerwear jackets and pantstotaled an estimated 6.3 million square meters in 2006. Data on these fabrics are likelyoverstated, as the specific end use of the fabric is often not known to the fabric producer andprobably includes fabrics intended for use in outerwear jackets and pants that do not meetthe strict definition of the subject apparel articles in this study. An estimated 75 percent ofdomestic production of water-resistant shell fabrics was used in the production ofperformance outerwear jackets and pants for the U.S. military and government.