US textile and apparel imports rise by a quarter in 2021

Imports of textiles and apparel by the US increased 25.63 per cent to $93.51 billion in the first 10 months of 2021, compared to $74.432 billion in January-October 2020. With a 27.82 per cent share, China continues to be the largest supplier of textiles and clothing to the US, followed by Vietnam with a 13.86 per cent share.

Apparel constituted the bulk of textile and garment imports made by the US during the 10 months, and were valued at $66.915 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $26.594 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce.

Segment-wise, among the top 10 apparel suppliers to the US, imports from Pakistan, Honduras and Nicaragua shot up by 56.34 per cent, 46.47 per cent and 42.07 per cent year-on-year respectively. But imports from Indonesia registered growth of only 10.36 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Italy, India, and Turkey soared by 56.36 per cent, 55.17 per cent and 44.66 per cent, respectively. The sharp rise in numbers is due to the base effect, as imports were disrupted last year due to the pandemic.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $93.51 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $40.479 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $48.537 billion, followed by $2.79 billion of wool products, and $1.703 billion of products from silk and vegetable fibres.

In 2020, US textile and apparel imports had decreased sharply, mainly due to pandemic-induced disruption, to $89.602 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019.