US' textiles & apparel imports down 2.37% in Jan-July 2024

In the first seven months of 2024, apparel imports, which constitute the majority of US textile imports, fell by 4.65 per cent to $43.633 billion, compared to $45.763 billion in the same period of 2023. However, non-apparel imports rose by 4.38 per cent to $16.124 billion, as reported by the US Department of Commerce's Major Shippers Report.

Among the top 10 suppliers of apparel, Bangladesh and Mexico saw increases of over 10 per cent during the period. Imports from these countries grew by 10.27 per cent and 10.29 per cent, respectively. Imports from Cambodia and Pakistan also increased by 5.96 per cent and 1.40 per cent, respectively. Imports from China decreased by 4.22 per cent, from Vietnam by 1.57 per cent, from India by 2.21 per cent, from Indonesia by 7.86 per cent, from Honduras 4.03 per cent, and from Italy by 1.44 per cent.

In the non-apparel sector, imports rose by 9.43 per cent from China, 7.24 per cent from Turkiye, 16.70 per cent from Vietnam, 7.17 per cent from India, and 7.13 per cent from Cambodia. Conversely, Mexican shipments to the US declined by 7.24 per cent, with further drops seen from Italy and South Korea.

During the review period, total US textile and apparel imports amounted to $59.757 billion. Man-made fibre products led the imports at $30.666 billion, followed by cotton products at $24.985 billion, wool products at $2.023 billion, and silk and vegetable fibre products at $2.082 billion.

In 2023, the US imported textiles and apparel worth $104.959 billion, a 20.51 per cent decrease from 2022. Apparel imports fell by 22.05 per cent to $77.840 billion, while non-apparel imports declined by 15.73 per cent to $27.119 billion. In 2022, US textile and apparel imports had increased to $132.201 billion, up from $113.938 billion in 2021, following a sharp decline in 2020 when imports dropped to $89.596 billion, compared to $111.033 billion in 2019.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)