Following a catastrophic 2020 in terms of both values and volumes, the US apparel business has revived in 2021. According to one research, US clothing imports increased by 26.92 percent to $35.38 billion in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in the previous year. Imports grew by 38.39 percent year on year to 13,365.48 million SME.
In the first half of 2021, the value of apparel imports into the United States decreased 11.63 percent to $ 40.04 billion. However, there was no substantial decline in volume in the US, which fell by only 0.23 percent compared to the first half of 2019.
The two-year comparison and the slight drop in volume-wise imports indicate that US buyers continue to import huge quantities of clothes from all over the world. The decline in values, on the other hand, implies that unit prices are tightening – particularly for basic commodities – which will exacerbate competition for industrial sites in the coming months!
The unit price of imported clothing in the United States fell significantly over the first half of the year. UVR (Unit Value Realisation) per SME in H1 ’21 was $2.64, down from $2.88 in H1 ’20 and $2.99 in H1 ’19. As the COVID-19 period proceeds, declining unit costs reflect the severe competition that clothing exporters are facing.