In October 2024, US apparel imports valued US $ 7.72 billion and jumped 19.76 per cent on Y-o-Y basis; however, the import remained dismal as compared to September ’24 when it valued US $ 8.02 billion.
The data was recently released by OTEXA and further analysed by Apparel Resources.
Markedly, on a Y-o-Y basis, all major apparel exporting countries upped their shipment to the USA both in volumes and values.
China shipped US $ 1.52 billion worth of apparel to the USA during October ’24, noting a decent 6.31 per cent increase on a Y-o-Y basis. On the other hand, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India grew in double digits to export apparel worth US $ 1.49 billion, US $ 730.25 million and US $ 412.54 million respectively.
Seeing the data, it’s evident that Vietnam is catching up with China rapidly. However, China is still a preferred place for low-cost garments while Vietnam is bagging high fashion garments as seen in their respective UVRs – US $ 1.77 per SME (China) and US $ 3.73 per SME (Vietnam).
Cumulatively, India and Indonesia have again found themselves in a tug of war in the US market as the latter is slightly ahead of India in terms of export values which amounted US $ 4.11 billion. Whereas, India’s shipments to the USA from January to October ’24 was valued at US $ 4.05 billion.
It’s worth noting here that, historically, the October to December quarter remains sluggish for US apparel buyers hence the industry can expect a downfall (on a monthly basis) in the coming two months as well.
