The paper presents the problem of the impact of the competitiveness of maritime transport on the efficiency of global supply chains on the example of the apparel industry. With the use of a model developed by the authors, simulations of the profitability of the sourcing in low-costs countries (Bangladesh, China) have been conducted. The model takes into account the specificity of the apparel industry, parameters of cargo, value of goods, and demand characteristics. If freight rates for maritime transport services were to increase significantly, the profitability of production in the Far East compared to local or regional production would be lower particularly for cheaper products. The level of these freight rates is not the main factor of the efficiency of this strategy. Simulations revealed, that changes of costs of production has greater impact on this profitability. In the garment market the possibility of quick response to demand is often more important than costs. The calculations were made on the basis of data obtained from Polish companies, which order production in countries with low production costs and transport garment in containers by sea and from transport and logistics operators.