THE REGIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE KNITTING INDUSTRY

Abstract

The objectives are two in this paper. First, if, for example, one was to take an industry classified under a 3 digit code number in the system of classification of industries, what would be the mutual relationship between the 4 digit code numbered industries which are classified with that industry ; what would be their spatial distribution. The second is to concretely examine how the regional structure of the 3 digit knitting industry (_??_) is undergoing change today within the fiber industry (_??_) which has a 2 digit code number (20) and how it might be influenced in its regional distribution by the industries with 4 digit code numbers. This paper studies the aforementioned two problems by comparing the regional structure of the knitting industry in the Kinki region (_??_) of Japan and the Atlantic Coast region of the United States. The knitting industry of Japan has been centered on such great cities as Tôkyô, Ôsaka and Nagoya and has continued to expand into their surrounding areas, utilizing the surplus labor supply from the nearby farm villages. In the case of the Kinki region, the knitting industry, while focussing on Ôsaka, is mainly distributed in the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama and Hyôgô, and in each of these prefectures the industry shows a high degree of spatial concentration. Grouped by type of industry (4 digit code number), the hosiery (_??_) industry is concentrated in Hyogo, the weft-plain knit (_??_) in Osaka, the knit-sewing (_??_) industry [within the circular knitting (_??_) industry] is concentrated in Ôsaka, and the knit fabric (_??_) industry is concentrated in Nara and Wakayama prefectures. Wakayama prefecture is particularly lacking in the makers of the knit-sewn products, but it has developed a specialization, the manufacture of circular knit fabrics (_??_). The makers of the latter depend on the wholesalers of Ôsaka for the threads used in weaving and then deliver back the knit fabrics to the wholesalers or to the knit-sewing companies, which also are found mainly in Ôsaka. Most of the knitting industries of Nara, Wakayama and Hyogô, whatever the kind of products they manufacture, have continuted to maintain ties with the wholesalers in Ôsaka, and their production and flow structures are strongly connected with Osaka. Before World War II, reference to fiber (_??_) products usually was limited to woven (_??_) fabrics. However, in the post-World War II period, with the high rate of economic growth of the 1950's, the knitted (_??_) goods industry developed very rapidly. If its development is viewed in terms of the threads used for weaving (_??_), then it made a transition from cotton to silk and wool and then to jersey. Jersey here refers to that knitted fabric used for the making of outer garments. In recent years, jersey fabric is made mainly from synthetic fibers by the use of the circular knitting machine. Thus the knitted fabric has changed from the use of cotton thread to synthetic threads and from their use for the making of undergarments to outer garments. In another direction, the circulation or flow of the knitted fabric strongly reflect the influence of firms having major brand names and of the general trading companies. The so-called “revolution” in the circulation pattern has been the trend towards the elimination of the traditional wholesalers, who had acted as the middlemen, and their replacement by large-scale enterprises, such as the aforementioned major brand name firms and trading companies. These large-scale enterprises depend upon volume sales through the expansion of their chain of stores and outlets and take advantage of large-scale centralized purchasing. They have also reduced the number in the variety of the same type of goods for sale and instead have emphasized quality; in other words, the trend is towards the promotion and sale of high quality goods on a large scale.