Apparel Knitting Mills in the US Industry Market Research Report from IBISWorld has Been Updated
Industry profit has followed suit, falling drastically over the past five years. As a result, the industry's size has shrunk from 847 firms in 2007 to 633 in 2012. Some of the unsuccessful companies have integrated into more high-value segments of the supply chain, while others have merged operations to take advantage of economies of scale. For example, major player Fruit of the Loom undertook the activities of athletic apparel company Russell in 2006. Still, other unprofitable players have completely exited the Apparel Knitting Mills industry. The industry has a high level of market share concentration, with the four largest firms accounting for a large share of industry revenue. "Larger players are increasingly diversifying their operations to include more high-value activities like designing and marketing while outsourcing many of their labor-intensive tasks to low cost countries," adds Panteva.