US textile and apparel imports down 19.98% year-on-year in January-March

Foreign news on May 8, U.S. textile and apparel imports continued to decline from January to March, dropping 19.98% year-on-year to US$25.874 billion, compared to US$32.231 billion a year earlier. China remains the largest supplier of textiles and clothing, accounting for 23.78% of the market share, followed by Vietnam with a 14.75% market share.

In the first three months of the year, the majority of US textile imports were apparel, totalling US$19,472 million, while non-apparel imports amounted to US$6,400 million. The volume of inbound shipments decreased for both apparel and non-apparel.

Compared to US$24,259 million in the same period last year, apparel imports fell by 19.73% and non-apparel imports fell by 20.71% compared to the same period last year.

Among the top 10 suppliers of apparel to the United States, imports from any country did not increase. Imports from China and Cambodia fell by 34.89% and 32.57% respectively year-over-year, imports from Vietnam decreased by 24.25%, imports from Pakistan decreased by 26.97%, Honduras slipped by 15.84%, Bangladesh slid by 13.34% and imports from India decreased by 11%.

In 2022, total US textile and apparel imports continued to grow, increasing from $113,938 million in 2021 to $132,101 million. There was a sharp decline in 2020, when the volume of inbound shipments to the US fell sharply to US$ 89,596 million, compared to US$ 111,033 million in 2019.