Trends in US Textile and Clothing Imports, 2010 update

• Publication date: April 2010

US imports of textiles and clothing fell for the second year in succession in 2009, by 7.5% to 46.6 bn sme (square metres equivalent), following a 5.2% drop in 2008—which was the first decline since 2001. Within the 2009 total, fabric imports fell by 5.4%, imports of apparel by 6.1%, imports of made-up textiles by 8.5% and yarn imports by 18.4%. Of these four categories, apparel continued to account for the highest share of total im...

US imports of textiles and clothing fell for the second year in succession in 2009, by 7.5% to
46.6 bn sme (square metres equivalent), following a 5.2% drop in 2008—which was the first decline
since 2001. Within the 2009 total, fabric imports fell by 5.4%, imports of apparel by 6.1%, imports
of made-up textiles by 8.5% and yarn imports by 18.4%. Of these four categories, apparel continued
to account for the highest share of total imports. Furthermore, at 45.7%, this share was up from
45.1% a year earlier and at its highest level since 2001. The share of fabrics rose for the first time
in seven years, to 15.9%. However, this was still the second lowest level on record. By contrast, the
share of made-up textiles declined for the second consecutive year but, at 33.3%, it was still the third
highest on record. Meanwhile, the share of yarn imports fell for the fifth consecutive year, to just
5.1%.
In terms of fibre type, cotton dominated US apparel imports in 2009 with a share of 59.1%. But manmade
fibres dominated textile and apparel imports as a whole with a 56.2% share.
The average price of US textile and clothing imports fell for the first time in three years in 2009, to
a new low of US$1.74 per sme. The average prices of imports from China, Vietnam, India and
Mexico—the USA’s four largest suppliers, respectively—all fell, as did the average prices of imports
from Cambodia, Pakistan and Thailand. By contrast, there were increases in the average prices of
imports from Bangladesh, Honduras and Indonesia.
China strengthened its lead as the USA’s biggest supplier in 2009, having increased its share in both
value and volume terms. However, imports from the country declined in value terms, by 2.8%, and
grew only marginally in terms of volume, by 0.5%. Despite these developments, China’s share of the
US import market rose from 35.1% to 39.2% in value terms and from 40.9% to 44.5% in volume. The
fastest growing supplier—at least in terms of volume—was Vietnam, as imports from the country
increased by 20.8% in terms of sme. In value terms, however, imports from Vietnam declined by 1.7%.
Imports from the other leading suppliers fell in value and volume terms. Furthermore, imports from
Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico and Thailand all fell at double digit rates and each lost market share.
Meanwhile, the declines in imports from Bangladesh, India and Indonesia were confined to single
digits and each country gained market share.

Clothing And Textile Industry in the United States

List of contents
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Import growth
Import prices
Influence of the US economy on imports
Outlook
US IMPORTS OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING BY MAIN
CATEGORY: YARNS, FABRICS, APPAREL AND MADE-UP
TEXTILES
US IMPORTS OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING BY FIBRE TYPE
MAJOR SUPPLIERS OF US TEXTILE AND CLOTHING IMPORTS
China
Average import prices
Impact of quota elimination and safeguard restrictions on US imports from China
Asean
South Asia
Nafta Countries: Mexico and Canada
CAFTA-DR and CBI countries
Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan
US TEXTILE AND CLOTHING IMPORT PRICES
SUPPLIER CONCENTRATION
OUTLOOK FOR US TEXTILE AND CLOTHING IMPORTS
Key developments in 20099
Outlook for 2010 and beyond
US IMPORTS OF MEN’S AND BOYS’ COTTON COATS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ COTTON COATS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ WOOL COATS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF COTTON DRESSES
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF MEN’S AND BOYS’ COTTON KNITTED SHIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ COTTON KNITTED
SHIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF MEN’S AND BOYS’ COTTON NON-KNITTED
(WOVEN) SHIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ COTTON NON-KNITTED
(WOVEN) SHIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF COTTON SKIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF MAN-MADE FIBRE SKIRTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF MEN’S AND BOYS’ COTTON TROUSERS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ COTTON TROUSERS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF COTTON AND MAN-MADE FIBRE BABY
GARMENTS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF COTTON PILE TOWELS
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
US IMPORTS OF OTHER COTTON APPAREL
General trends
Top ten supplying countries
Best performers
Worst performers
Highest and lowest import prices
Biggest price movements
APPENDIX: EXCHANGE RATES AND THE PHASING-OUT OF
QUOTAS
Exchange rates
The phasing-out of quotas
STATISTICAL APPENDIX
List of tables
Table 1: USA: imports of MFA yarns, fabrics, apparel and made-up textiles, 1986-2009
Table 2: USA: imports of MFA textiles and apparel by fibre type, 1978-2009
Table 3: USA: top ten suppliers of MFA textiles and clothing, 1990-2009
Table 4: USA: growth of textile and clothing imports from China and associated price changes,
selected categories, 2008 and 2009
Table 5: USA: share of the import market held by the top ten suppliers, selected product categories,
1990-2009
Table 6: USA: top ten suppliers of men’s and boys’ cotton coats (Category 334), 1990-2009
Table 7: USA: top ten suppliers of women’s and girls’ cotton coats (Category 335), 1990-2009
Table 8: USA: top ten suppliers of women’s and girls’ wool coats (Category 435), 1990-2009
Table 9: USA: top ten suppliers of cotton dresses (Category 336), 1990-2009
Table 10: USA: top ten suppliers of men’s and boys’ cotton knitted shirts (Category 338), 1990-2009
Table 11: USA: top ten suppliers of women’s and girls’ cotton knitted shirts (Category 339), 1990-
2009
Table 12: USA: top ten suppliers of men’s and boys’ cotton non-knitted shirts (Category 340), 1990-
2009
Table 13: USA: top ten suppliers of women’s and girls’ cotton non-knitted shirts (Category 341),
1990-2009
Table 14: USA: top ten suppliers of cotton skirts (Category 342), 1990-2009
Table 15: USA: top ten suppliers of man-made fibre skirts (Category 642), 1990-2009
Table 16: USA: top ten suppliers of men’s and boys’ cotton trousers (Category 347), 1990-2009
Table 17: USA: top ten suppliers of women’s and girls’ cotton trousers (Category 348), 1990-2009
Table 18: USA: top ten suppliers of cotton and man-made fibre baby garments (Category 239), 1990-
2009
Table 19: USA: top ten suppliers of cotton pile towels (Category 363), 1990-2009
Table 20: USA: top ten suppliers of other cotton apparel (Category 359), 1990-2009
Table 21: Changes in the exchange rates of selected Asian countries and the EU against the US dollar,
2nd qtr 1997-2009
Table 22: US schedule for integrating textile and clothing trade, 1995-2005
Table 23: USA: top ten categories of clothing imports, 1990-2009