XDress Shirting Makers
Complain of Late Orders DAILY NEWS
NEW YORK. Dress shirting suppliers say they're suffering from the reverse of the old Army game of “hurry up and wait." It's called wait and hurry up.
Late deliveries have become the rule, they say, because manufacturers waited too long to place color assortments for fall, 1969. As a result, there is congestion at the dye houses, with late shipments of two to four weeks prevail- ing for plain shirtings and overdyed colored yarn goods.
In some cases, cutters have compounded the problem by trying to anticipate their contracts. For example, as- sortments originally slated for delivery from July through September are now being sought for immediate shipment.
This is the reply of mills and converters to the charge of shirt makers that poor fabric deliveries are to blame for much of their own delivery problems. (DNR, Aug. 12, p. 1.)
Perhaps the real villain is fashion. Color plays such a vital role in shirtings today that fabric buyers feel they must wait as long as pos- sible to place assortments. Many of them specified their
colors in June for quick de- livery, thus running smack. into the July vacation clos-
ings at the dye plants.
The color explosion has aggravated the finishing bottleneck. With shirting houses running 40 or more colors, the dyeing cycle has been stretched out substan- tially, they say.
For
Fall assortments continue to stress such deep-dark 'tones as chocolate and navy, which are slower-dyeing than lighter colors. spring, 1970, a definite shift to clearer, brighter shades such as coral and lime is re- ported by some sources,
while others haven't detect- ed any basic changes to date.
Another reason for deliv- ery problems in shirtings is the high cost of carrying in- ventories. No one wants to project far ahead, a reluctance extending all the way from mills to retailers.
Shirting suppliers now show a heavily sold-up position for fourth period, but have had lit-
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tle success getting manufactur- ers to place blanket commit- ments for early next year. One reason for this hesitancy is con- cern over the fate of quota talks with Japan on man-made fiber textiles scheduled to start next month.
Prices are generally firm, with carryover from fall expected to be minimal next spring. In poly- ester/cotton broadcloths, white with durable press is generally quoted at 47-472 cents for larg- er customers, while polyester/- cotton batistes are mostly 37-38 cents. These first-quarter levels are slightly above business taken for the second half of this year. In colored yarn shirtings, stripes continue to be preferred over plaids. Prices for pre-cured polyester/cottons usually start at 55 cents, with overdyes running 1 or 2 cents higher.
There are no delivery prob- lems to speak of in non-overdyed colored yarn goods, according to mills. That's because cutters know they must specify colors several months ahead on these goods, whereas they expect quick shipments on other fabrics. There is some complaint among con- verters, however, that mills are two to three weeks late on their shipping schedules.
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Deliveries
21/8/69.
on higher-priced fancies such as satin stripes, skip dents and 80/20 polyester/cottons are also showing few delays be◄ cause shirt makers made ade- quate projections, mills say. But some tightness is developing ar the fall reorder period draws to a close,
-SIG SCHEIER
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