American apparel manufacturers may not yet have seen the growth that trade data shows their overseas competitors have. Panjiva data shows imports of fabrics, and specifically synthetics, fell 11% in October after a 72% drop in products from Turkey. There should be some optimism though – shipment data showed a 17% increase in November. Additionally, there are signs of imports of polyester and nylon threads rising, by 15% and 13% respectively in November. Long term, Lenzing’s expansion in Alabama suggests demand for threads should be robust. The strongest part of the value chain has been i...