Volume Of US Apparel Imports Rebound In First Quarter Of 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, volume of US apparel imports began to rebound, however value of garment imports continued to decline but varied in case of origin of imports.
In the first three months of 2024, US clothing imports from Bangladesh fell 12 percent year-on-year. But while cotton clothing imports remained stable, manmade fibre (MMF) apparel imports fell 29 percent.
Imports from China increased significantly, with cotton clothing imports rising 12.8 percent and MMF garment imports increasing 7.2 percent.
Imports from Vietnam also rose; with cotton clothing imports growing 5.9 percent and MMF apparel imports hiking by 14.1 percent.
In the quarter under review, overall unit price of US imports of clothing from most origins fell.
The lowest fall in unit price was reported from Indonesia which dropped 0.2 percent. Unit prices from China, Cambodia and Vietnam reduced nearly 10 percent and that of Sri Lanka dipped 19.7 percent.
Among cotton clothing, India’s unit price fell by 11.2 percent, Bangladesh’s by 11.9 percent, and Sri Lanka’s by a significant 31.1 percent.
As China’s unit price is significantly lower than other origins, China’s market share of US apparel imports has risen to 32.5 percent, much higher than Vietnam’s 17.5 percent.
In terms of import value, China accounts for 19.1 percent, Vietnam accounts for 18.8 percent and other regions account for less than double digits.
