US Clothing Imports Decreased By 30% In The First Quarter, And China’s Market Share Continued To Decline

According to the statistics of the United States Department of Commerce, in the first quarter of this year, the US clothing import volume fell 30.1% year on year, the import volume to China fell 38.5%, and the proportion of China in the US clothing import fell from 34.1% a year ago to 30%.

From the perspective of import volume, in the first quarter, the import volume of clothing from the United States to China decreased by 34.9% year-on-year, while the total import volume of clothing decreased by only 19.7% year-on-year. China’s share of clothing imports from the United States has decreased from 21.9% to 17.8%, while Vietnam’s share is 17.3%, further narrowing the gap with China.

However, in the first quarter, the import volume of clothing from the United States to Vietnam decreased by 31.6%, and the import volume decreased by 24.2%, indicating that Vietnam’s market share in the United States is also shrinking.

In the first quarter, the United States’ clothing imports to Bangladesh also experienced a double-digit decline. However, based on import volume, Bangladesh’s proportion in US clothing imports increased from 10.9% to 11.4%, and based on import amount, Bangladesh’s proportion increased from 10.2% to 11%.

In the past four years, the import volume and value of clothing from the United States to Bangladesh have increased by 17% and 36% respectively, while the import volume and value of clothing from China have decreased by 30% and 40% respectively.

In the first quarter, the decline in clothing imports from the United States to India and Indonesia was relatively limited, with imports to Cambodia decreasing by 43% and 33%, respectively. The United States’ clothing imports have started to lean towards closer located Latin American countries such as Mexico and Nicaragua, with a single digit decrease in their import volume.

In addition, the average unit price increase of clothing imports from the United States began to shrink in the first quarter, while the increase in import unit prices from Indonesia and China was very small, while the average unit price of clothing imports from Bangladesh continued to rise.