US' textiles & apparel imports down 3.58% in January-June 2024

In the first half of 2024, apparel imports, which make up the bulk of US textile imports, fell by 6.04 per cent to $35.748 billion, compared to $38.044 billion in the same period of 2023. Non-apparel imports, however, rose by 3.55 per cent to $13.134 billion, as reported by the US Department of Commerce's Major Shippers Report.

Among the top 10 suppliers, Cambodia was the only country to see an increase in apparel imports, growing by 4.45 per cent. In contrast, significant declines were noted from Mexico (down 11.24 per cent) and Bangladesh (down 10.97 per cent). Imports also fell from Indonesia (9.75 per cent), China (6.37 per cent), and India (2.64 per cent).

In the non-apparel sector, imports rose by 7.15 per cent from China, 11.25 per cent from Turkiye, 14.12 per cent from Vietnam, 7.98 per cent from India, 3.27 per cent from Indonesia, and 4.49 per cent from Cambodia. Conversely, Mexican shipments to the US declined by 7.95 per cent, with further drops seen from Italy, Pakistan, and South Korea.

During the review period, total US textile and apparel imports amounted to $49.349 billion. Man-made fibre products led the imports at $25.235 billion, followed by cotton products at $20.697 billion, wool products at $1.527 billion, and silk and vegetable fibre products at $1.889 billion.

In 2023, the US imported textiles 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.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)