jacket

China suppliers of jacket and windbreakers are raising prices by up to 15 percent and taking measures to enhance efficiency in response to the continuing increase in raw material costs and the ongoing labor shortage. A number of makers are also taking steps to improve product quality. One of the most pressing challenges in the industry at present is the soaring cost of raw materials. The majority of fabric and accessories used to make the jackets are petroleum-based. With fluctuating crude oil prices in the world market, the cost of these materials has increased by as much as 30 percent in the past year. The labor shortage affecting industrialized provinces in China is also a major challenge. The shortage, which was initially limited to Guangdong province, is now also widespread in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, the main production hubs for jackets. In fact, a number of factories in these areas have only half of their required permanent workforce at any given time, since most workers prefer to work on a temporary basis.