According to production statistics compiled by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the nation’s production of apparel in 2017 decreased by 8.1% compared to the previous year to 98.40 million units, thus decreasing below the 100-million-unit level for the first time since the Ministry began taking statistics.
Knitted outerwear production declined by 6.9% to 24.42 million units, and that of knitted innerwear (underwear, foundation garments and nightwear) was down 6.7% to 35.07 million units. Woven outerwear production decreased by 5.6% to 33.66 million units, while that of woven innerwear dropped 31.5% to 5.25 million units.
The number of industrial sewing machines installed in the industry numbered 56,603 last December, with a monthly capacity of producing 22.03 million units of garments.