INSIGHTS
- When compared to the same time in 2022, US imports of textiles and clothing dropped by 19.98% to $25.874 billion in the first three months of 2023.
- With a market share of 23.78%, China continued to be the top provider, followed by Vietnam at 14.75%.
- While non-clothing imports declined by 20.71%, imports of apparel fell by 19.73%.
The value of US imports of textiles and clothing has continued to shrink, decreasing by 19.98% to $25.874 billion in the first three months of 2023 from $32.331 billion in the corresponding period of 2022. With a 23.78% market share, China continues to be the US’s top supplier of textiles and apparel. Vietnam comes in second with a 14.75% share.
According to the most recent Major Shippers Report published by the US department of commerce, clothing accounted for the majority of US textile imports in January–March 2023, totaling $19.472 billion, while non–apparel imports totaled $6.400 billion. Inbound shipments decreased for both sectors.
While non-clothing imports declined by 20.71% from $6.400 billion in the same period of the previous year, apparel imports fell by 19.73% from the $24.259 billion traded in January-March 2022.
The import from any of the top 10 clothing suppliers to the US did not increase. China and Cambodia had a fall in imports of 34.89% and 32.57%, respectively. Vietnam’s imports decreased by 24.25 percent, Pakistan’s by 26.7 percent, Honduras’ by 15.84 percent, Bangladesh’s by 13.34 percent, and India’s by 11%.
Mexico was among the top ten non-apparel suppliers, with an increase of 10.20% year over year in imports. No other country’s imports increased during this time. On the other hand, imports from Vietnam decreased by 12.58%. Shipments coming in from other nations, like China, Turkey, and Canada, also fell. In particular, imports from China and India fell by 33.28% and 21.73%, respectively.
The sum of US textile and clothing imports for the time period under consideration was $25.874 billion. Products produced of man-made fibers were worth $13.258 billion, while those made of cotton were worth $10.876 billion. Items composed of wool accounted for $780.065 million, while silk and vegetable fiber items brought in $956.980 million.
The amount of textile and clothing that the US imported in 2022 increased from $113.938 billion in 2021 to $132.201 billion. Following a dramatic dip in 2020, when the nation’s imports fell to $89.596 billion from $111.033 billion in 2019, there was a big uptick in 2019.
