US apparel import data in 2017 versus 2016

US in the start of 2017 fell in its global apparel imports and the data shows the country performed worse than the first two months of 2016.

During January to February 2017 period, US witnessed 1.02 per cent drop volumes in its apparel imports as against the rise of 12.84 per cent in the same month last year, whereas values too dropped by 4.46 per cent versus 7.59 per cent growth in 2016.

Also Read – US apparel imports start year on a high note

On the other hand, unit values of apparels also declined by 3.43 per cent to US $ 2.91 per square meter. Unit value in the same period in 2016 was US $ 3.01 per square meter with a drop of 4.66 per cent if compared to the first two months of 2015. Here, US somehow managed to get more value realisation than 2016 indicating the weak dollar in the market.

The situation of US apparel import may get worse due to the President Trump’s import policies in upcoming month and it will be interesting to see how TPP exit and proposed Border Adjustment Tax would affect the country’s import.