In November 2020, there was a major trend in U.S. apparel imports. The total import volume that month reached 6.825 billion square meters, a year-on-year increase of 28.8%, but the import value only increased by 1.5% to US$7.84 billion. According to analysis, the increase in U.S. textile and apparel imports that month was mainly driven by the import of low-priced textiles, and then the decline in China’s export prices offset all tariffs. Therefore, it became the largest source of U.S. apparel imports that month, with exports to the United States reaching 3.479 billion square meters. , a year-on-year increase of 38.6%, accounting for 51% of U.S. apparel imports, but exports to the United States only increased by 3% year-on-year. In November 2020, the U.S. textile import volume was 4.82 billion square meters, accounting for 70.6% of the total textile and clothing imports. The import volume of all categories of gauze increased across the board, with personal protective fabrics bearing the brunt. Among all textiles, personal protective fabrics are the driving force for the growth of cloth imports. Cloth imports in that month increased by 62.5% year-on-year, and the largest source is China. In November 2020, the U.S. clothing import volume was 2.004 billion square meters, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%, but the import value fell by 4.7% to US$5.282 billion. China is still the largest source of imports. In terms of quantity, the United States imported 778.7 million square meters of clothing from China that month, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, but the import value was US$1.274 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.3%. Obviously, American retailers and brands still regard China as their most important supplier.
In November 2020, the proportion of cotton clothing in U.S. clothing imports fell by 24% year-on-year, while imports of all clothing fell by 38.84% year-on-year. In that month, the import volume of U.S. cotton clothing increased by 16.17% year-on-year to 251.72 million square meters, but the import value fell by 9.35% to US$419 million.
In November 2020, the second largest source of U.S. apparel imports was Vietnam, followed by Bangladesh, Central and North America, India and Pakistan. In that month, the United States’ clothing volume to Vietnam increased by 24.4% year-on-year, imports from Pakistan increased by 24.1%, and import value increased by 11.1%. Overall, Bangladesh is the third largest source of U.S. apparel imports, but imports increased by only 1.8% in November. Mexico’s market share continues to decline, accounting for less than 3% of cotton apparel imports.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) show that in the first ten months of 2020, the import volume of personal protective equipment reached US$16.583 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 400%. Among them, the import volume of masks accounted for 44.7%, and the import volume of biodegradable clothing accounted for 23.4%.
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