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NAICS 2022

315

Apparel Manufacturing

Analysis

NAICS 315 is the 2022 subsector for apparel manufacturing. Census lists 729 example activities under it in the official index.

Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 21% and employment fell 25%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.

County Business Patterns counts 4,337 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 63,163 people at an average annual payroll of $41,181 per employee (10th percentile of national industries). 55% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.

Across its national industries Census lists 729 index entries; typical ones are anklets, sheer hosiery or socks, knitting or knitting and…, apparel cut and sew contractors, apparel, fur (except apparel contractors), manufacturing and apparel findings and trimmings cut and sewn from purchased….

Its goods appear in 212 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 6116 (gloves, mittens and mitts, knitted or crocheted), 6117 (other made up clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted…) and 6217 (other made up clothing accessories; parts of garments or of…). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.

It splits into 3 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 3152 (Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing) with 3,430.

Official definition

Industries in the Apparel Manufacturing subsector group establishments with two distinct manufacturing processes: (1) cut and sew (i.e., purchasing fabric and cutting and sewing to make a garment) and (2) the manufacture of garments in establishments that first knit fabric and then cut and sew the fabric into a garment. The Apparel Manufacturing subsector includes a diverse range of establishments manufacturing full lines of ready-to-wear apparel and custom apparel: apparel contractors, performing cutting or sewing operations on materials owned by others; jobbers, performing entrepreneurial functions involved in apparel manufacturing; and tailors, manufacturing custom garments for individual clients. Knitting fabric, when done alone, is classified in the Textile Mills subsector, but when knitting is combined with the production of complete garments, the activity is classified in the Apparel Manufacturing subsector.

Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.

Index entries (729)

  • Anklets, sheer hosiery or socks, knitting or knitting and finishing
  • Apparel cut and sew contractors
  • Apparel, fur (except apparel contractors), manufacturing
  • Apparel findings and trimmings cut and sewn from purchased fabric (except apparel contractors)