0003230 G.F. 323
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24
industry. Of these, 7,000 plants were in the textile sector
and 28,000 in apparel. Some 50% of those in the textile
sector and 80% in the apparel sector were privately owned.
The majority of companies owned only one plant.
It had
been possible to carry out an unpublished survey of these
privately owned companies. This had showed that profits
earned by privately owned companies were less than profits
earned by public companies. The June, July and August
figures indicated a downward trend. July figures for
textile mill production were down on June and May;
July
figures for apparel were down on May and on June 1968.
In m.m.f. fabrics, July showed the lowest figures since
February; cotton textile production was the lowest
since fiscal year 1959; wool textile production in July
was the lowest since September 1967; textile shipments
in July were 5% down on the preceding year and textile
inventories at the end of July were 3% up on the
preceding year; the ratio of inventories to shipments
was at a record high. From this information and that
given before lunch on employment, there was a clear
reading of a downturn.
59.
Mr. Nehmer further illustrated this point by
reference to three company reports on the impact of
imports. Company I, making woven work clothes of cotton
and cotton/polyester blends reported it was suffering
competition from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Far last
/prices
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