US textile & apparel imports up 4.4% in Q1

11 May '15

2 min read

The United States imported textiles and apparel worth $25.930 billion in the first three months of 2015, registering an increase of 4.40 per cent over imports of $24.838 billion made in the corresponding period of last year, according to the Major Shippers Report, released by the US Department of Commerce.

The US imported $9.354 billion worth of textiles and garments from China, which accounted for 39.05 per cent share of all textile and garment imports made by the US in January-March 2015, the data showed.

Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia were among the top five suppliers of textiles and garments to the US, with goods valued at $2.594 billion, $1.897 billion, $1.449 billion and $1.316 billion, respectively, during the three-month period.

Segment-wise, the US apparel imports during the first quarter of 2015 were valued at $19.723 billion, whereas non-apparel imports accounted for $6.207 billion.

Among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, Sri Lanka’s exports increased at a fast pace of 15.27 per cent year-on-year to $539.184 million, during the period under review. On the other hand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Mexico saw their exports declining by 10.90 per cent, 4.86 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively, over the corresponding period of 2014.

In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, the import from China and Turkey shot up by 10.39 per cent year-on-year and 12.62 per cent respectively to $2.880 billion and $179.173 million. While imports from Pakistan and Vietnam dropped by 7.50 per cent and 5.82 per cent to $378.095 million and $154.940 million respectively.

Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $25.930 billion during the first quarter, cotton products were worth $12.250 billion, while manmade fibre products accounted for $12.313 billion, followed by $740.210 million of wool products and $627.064 million of products from silk and vegetable fibres.

In 2014, the US textile and apparel imports increased by 2.61 per cent year-on-year to $107.460 billion, with apparel alone accounting for $81.780 billion. (RKS)

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