Publish Date: October 2026
Updated Tariff & Recession Risk Analysis and Forecasts
The 2026 Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing Market Report covers the $758.9 million industry which maintains stronger domestic production than most apparel segments due to specialized equipment requirements and higher automation potential reducing labor dependency. Competitive structure features specialized sock and hosiery manufacturers with technical expertise in particular constructions and performance types. Consumer preferences increasingly emphasize performance characteristics, sustainable materials, distinctive design features, and domestic production credentials that command premium pricing. Manufacturers face significant challenges balancing equipment optimization, technical expertise requirements, material engineering, and tariff considerations affecting both yarn imports and competitive positioning against imports. Industry leaders establish advantages through advanced knitting technologies creating specialized structures, material expertise optimizing performance characteristics, efficient manufacturing systems improving production economics, and compelling brand positioning highlighting performance benefits in a segment where technical capabilities, product innovation, and increasingly sustainability credentials determine competitive positioning across diverse sock and hosiery applications.
Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing Industry Description
Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing produces fitted coverings for feet and legs through specialized circular knitting processes. Companies operate automated machines that create seamless or minimally-seamed tubular products with shaped components for anatomical fit. Manufacturing processes include yarn feeding, circular knitting with specialized cylinder and dial configurations, toe closing through looping or sewing, dyeing, boarding to set final shape, and packaging operations. These businesses serve retail markets with both basic and specialized legwear. The industry continuously improves knitting technology, automation, and increasingly focuses on performance features like cushioning, compression, moisture management, and specialized designs for athletic, therapeutic, and fashion applications that enhance functionality beyond basic foot coverings.
NAICS Code: 31511
Number of Companies: 108
Number of Plants / Facilities: 118
Total Employees: 7,884
Market Size: $0.8 billion
TARIFF IMPACT (Summer 2025 – Download Report for Updated Analysis)
This report has in-depth analysis on the recent US tariff changes on material costs, quantifying import dependencies, tariff exposure rates, and key source countries for the sock & hosiery manufacturing sector.
Estimated Tariff Cost: $60 million
Relative Tariff Impact: SEVERE
Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing Report Format
The 2026 U.S. Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing Market Report is 63 pages of deep insights into the trends, dynamics, and forecasts shaping the industry. Professionals leverage this market report to develop a deep understanding of the market for business strategy, planning, forecasting, benchmarking, industry analysis, valuations, identifying organizational inefficiencies, financial analysis, and more.
The report has over 100 industry statistical data sets with historicals (2017-2025), trend analysis, and forecasts for 2026 and the next 5 years. The report includes market size & growth, in-depth OPEX analysis on 26 categories, extensive financial analysis, forecasts on 100+ data sets, inventory trends & analysis, 31 balance sheet benchmarks, segmentation by business size and structure, competitive intensity analysis, material costs benchmarks, profitability metrics, state metrics analysis, plant utilization, employee role analysis, inflation trend benchmarks, employee pay analysis, in-depth productivity analysis, and numerous other data sets.
Below are a few page images from the report and check out the table of contents for a complete overview.
Report Table of Contents
Explore the below table of contents to understand the comprehensive insights in the report and why thousands of professionals and executives count on Kentley Insights for their industry research.
The data source for the report is extensive annual expense, revenue, wage, operational, and economic surveys administered by federal and private institutions and filled out by a majority of companies in the sock & hosiery manufacturing sector. Our analysts develop the forecasts utilizing econometric models based on historical statistical analysis, industry trends and dynamics, macroeconomic analysis & forecasts.
1-2 – Market Report Overview & Contents
3 – Market Overview
– Data Sources, Industry Definition & Market Commentary
4 – Market Synopsis – Revenue & Growth
5 – Market Synopsis – Costs & Profitability
SECTION ONE
REVENUE & GROWTH ANALYSIS
7 – Market Size Details
– Industry Revenues, Companies & Facilities
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
8 – Growth Benchmarks
– Sales per Company & Plant
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
9 – Product Lines Revenue
– Percentage of Revenue from Product Lines
10 – BCG Matrix – Net Income vs. Revenue Growth
– Subsectors vs. Industry
11 – Total Sales by Month & Year
– 2021-2025 Sales per Month
12 – Inventory Value by Month & Year
– Inventory Value per Month for 2021-2025
13 – Months of Inventory
– Months of Inventory per Month for 2021-2025
14 – Sector Revenue by Segments
– Concentration Segments by Top Companies
– Business Size Segments
– Business Structure Segments
15 – Market Size by State
16 – Market Size as a % of State GDP
17 – Sales as a % of State Manufacturing
18 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
19 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
– Business Size Segments – 1-4, 5-9, 10-20, 21-50, 51-100, 101-250, & 250+ employees
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
20 – Segmentation by Concentration (Top 50 Companies)
– Concentration Segments – Top 4, 5-8, 9-20, & 21-50 companies
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
21 – Market Share of Top 50 Companies
22 – Subsector Market Share of Top 50 Companies
23 – Segmentation by Business Structure
– Business Structure Segments – C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, & Sole Proprietorships
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
24 – Revenue per Company by State
– Revenue per Company
25 – Revenue per Company by Segments
26 – Revenue per Facility by State
27 – Revenue per Facility by Segment
– Business Size, Concentration, & Structure
28 – Subsector Growth
– Sales and 5-Year Growth
29 – Subsector Statistics
– Sales per Company & Facility, and 5-Year Growth
30 – Consolidation Analysis
– 5-Year Growth of Companies & Locations
31 – Employment Consolidation Analysis
– 5-Year Growth of Employee Statistics
32 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Number of Companies & Facilities
– 5-Year Growth
33 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Facilities per Company
– Employees per Company
– 5-Year Growth
SECTION TWO
COST, CAPITAL & PROFIT BENCHMARKS
35 – Profitability & Financial Ratio Analysis
– Percent of Companies that are Profitable
– Average Net Income as a Percent of Revenue
– 10 of the Top Financial Ratios
– Assets and Liabilities indexed to industry revenue at 100
– Current & Non-Current Assets: 14 Categories
– Short-term, Long-term Liabilities, & Net Worth: 13 Categories
37 – OPEX
– Industry OPEX
– Revenue vs. OPEX Growth
– OPEX as a Percent of Revenue
– Trend Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
38 – OPEX by Company & Plant
– OPEX per Company & Facility
– Revenue vs. Expenses Growth per Plant
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
Page 39 – OPEX Detail
– Employee Expenses: payroll, insurance, pension, defined contribution plans, fringe benefits, temps
– Cost of Materials: materials, parts, containers, packaging, cost of resale, electricity and fuels, contract work
– Buildings and Equipment: capex for equipment, rental or lease for equipment, capex for buildings and structures, rental or leases, repair and maintenance
– Other Operating Expenses: professional and technical services, IT software and hardware, data processing and communications, advertising, refuse removal, taxes and license fees, other
-Inventory Breakdown: finished goods, work-in-progress, materials and supplies
40 – Production Material Costs & Tariff Analysis
– Top Production Material Costs Breakdown
– Industry & Material Tariff Analysis – % of costs, import %, tariff costs, source countries
41 – Producer Pricing Index
– Annual PPI – Indexed to 2006
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
– Monthly PPI Figures for the Past 4 Years
42 – Plant Utilization & Hours
– Plant Utilization Rate
– Plant Operational Hours per Week
– 2022-2025 Historical Figures by Quarter
43 – Reasons for Non-Full Production
– 7 Categories Quarterly Survey Results for Past 2 Years
44 – Productivity & Employment
– Revenue per Employee
– Total Employees
– Employees per Company
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
45 – Employee Productivity by Segments
– Business Size, Concentration, & Structure
46 – Employee Productivity by State
47 –Subsector Sales & Payroll per Employee
– Absolute & 5-Year Growth
48 – Payroll Analysis
– Payroll per Employee, Company & Plant
– Trend Analysis & Forecasts
49 – Payroll per Company by Segments
50 – Payroll per Plant by Segments
51 – Payroll per Employee by Segments
52 – Payroll per Employee by State
53 – Organizational Composition
– % of Employees for 27 Job Categories
– Management & Finance
– Sales & Marketing
– Technology, Engineering, Science
– Service, Support & Training
– Operations
54 – Job Categorization Pay Ranges
– Management & Finance
– Sales, Service & Marketing
– Operations
– Pay Bands – Bottom 10% & 25%, Mean, Top 25% & 10%
55 – Top 20 Jobs Breakdown
56 – Top 20 Jobs Pay
57 – Employees per Company by Segments
58 – Employees per Plant by Segments
59 – Facilities per Company by Segments
60 – Total Employment by State
61 – Population to Every Employee by State
62 – Employees per Facility by State
63 – Overview of Kentley Insights
Download a Sample Report
Below is a free sample report download. The 2026 Sock & Hosiery Manufacturing Market Report has the same layout and data sets as the sample report.
Product Lines, Materials, and Jobs Covered in Report
PRODUCT LINES
Hosiery and socks, men’s, finished, sizes 10 and up (excluding sheer)
Hosiery and socks, all other types, finished (excluding sheer)
Sheer pantyhose, including tights, women’s, misses’, and girls’, finished, all needles
Socks and hosiery, excluding sheer, shipped in the greige
Sheer hosiery, women’s, misses’, and girls’, finished, full-length, knee-length, and below the knee (excluding socks)
Hosiery and sock mills, nsk, total
Sheer hosiery, excluding socks, women’s, misses’, and girls’, shipped in the greige
MATERIAL COST CATEGORIES
Yarns, excluding acrylic
Hosiery and socks
Materials, ingredients, containers, and supplies, nsk
Cost of all other materials and components, parts, containers, and supplies consumed
Acrylic yarns
Plastics products (including packaging, foam products, film, sheet, rod, tube, fabricated shapes, bottles, etc.)
Paper and paperboard products
INDUSTRY JOBS ANALYZED
Textile Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Laborers and Material Movers, Hand
Industrial Machinery Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Workers
Sewing Machine Operators
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Miscellaneous Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Miscellaneous Production Workers
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
General and Operations Managers
Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Office Clerks, General
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing
Stock Clerks and Order Fillers
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Designers
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
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