The Information-Integrated Channel: A Study of the U.S. Apparel Industry in Transition

Frederick H. Abernathy,

FHA

Frederick H. Abernathy Harvard University

Janice H. Hamond,

JHH

Janice H. Hamond Harvard Business School

David N. Weil, and

DNW

David N. Weil Boston University School of Management

John T. Dunlop

JTD

John T. Dunlop Harvard University

Discussants: Timothy F. Bresnahan and

TFB

Timothy F. Bresnahan Stanford University

B. Peter Pashigian

BPP

B. Peter Pashigian

THE POPULAR PROGNOSIS for the U.S. apparel industry is bleak. Citing increased import penetration in many product segments and the concurrent erosion of domestic employment, many analysts regard apparel manufacturing in the United States as a dying industry. The Department of Labor concurs, projecting a significant reduction in employment in the domestic apparel industry during the next decade. Under its most optimistic scenario, the department predicts employment will drop from a 1990 level of 839,000 to 649,000 in 2005; under its most pessimistic scenario, employment is projected to fall to 479,000 in 2005.