WASHINGTON: The volume of US apparel imports saw a sharp downturn month-on-month in September as the back-to-school season came to an end and supply chains were disrupted and goods temporarily stranded following the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Company, the world’s seventh-largest shipper. During the month India was the only country in the top ten to book an increase, with China showing the largest decline.
The latest figures from the Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) show the volume of US apparel imports from all sources was down 11.2% in September to 2.53bn square metre equivalents (SME) compared with 2.85bn SME booked in August. However, the figures also show a 5.8% fall year-on-year in September apparel imports – widening the year-on-year decline of 4.3% seen in August. Total imports during the month slipped to 2.53bn SME, from 2.69bn SME in September last year. In value terms, imports were down 11% year-on-year to $7.39bn in September.
In terms of individual supplier countries, all but one of the top-ten recorded year-on-year declines, with India the only country to book an increase. China – the largest supplier of apparel to the US – recorded the largest decline in shipments of 9.3% year-on-year to 1.2bn SME, and down 9% compared with a month earlier. The second-largest supplier, Vietnam, booked a decline of 4.6% to 268m SME – a turnaround on August’s double-digit 11.6% gain and the 9.2% seen in July. Indonesia, meanwhile, also saw its apparel shipments to the US fall 5.11% in September to 94m SME compared with the year before.
Bangladesh, ranked number three in the top-ten league table, saw a decline of 0.6% to 156m SME. Cambodia, meanwhile, saw shipments fall 2.3% to 106m SME, although this was an improvement on its decline of 21.1% in August. Of the remaining top-ten supplier countries, Pakistan booked the second largest decline of 9.1% to 46m SME, while Honduras booked a year-on-year decline of 3.3% to 98m. Meanwhile, El Salvador booked a year-on-year drop of 8.5% to 70m SME, and Mexico saw a fall of 0.2% year-on-year to 72m SME. India, the only country to book an increase, saw apparel shipments grow 2.5% to 76m SME, but this marked a 5% decline in month-on-month imports.
