Trends in US textile and clothing imports, 2024

Trends in US textile and clothing imports, 2024

This 2024 update contains analysis and insight into the USA’s top ten foreign suppliers of textiles and clothing in 2023, along with more specific information on US imports of cotton dresses, cotton knitted shirts, cotton non-knitted (woven) shirts, cotton skirts, cotton trousers, cotton underwear, man-made fibre bras, man-made fibre dresses, man-made fibre knitted shirts, man-made fibre skirts and man-made fibre trousers. The report also includes an outlook for 2024 and beyond, and a statistical appendix containing data on exchange rates and US imports of cotton and man-made fibre baby garments, cotton coats, cotton pile towels, denim trousers, man-made fibre coats, and wool coats.

In 2023 US textile and clothing imports fell in value to their third lowest level since 2013. They also fell in volume terms, although they were still at their third highest level on record. Within the 2023 total, imports of clothing plunged in volume terms to their second lowest level since 2012 and imports of yarn fell to their lowest level since 2016. Imports of fabrics also fell but they were still at their second highest level on record. Imports of made-up textiles fell too but they were still at their fourth highest level on record.

The average price of US textile and clothing imports fell in 2023 to a record low, reflecting the fact that the fall was the 11th in 12 years. The fall reflected a decline in the average price of textile imports and a decline in the average price of clothing imports.

In terms of fibre type, man-made fibres continued to dominate US textile and apparel imports as a whole, and man-made fibre products accounted for the largest share of US apparel imports in 2023 for the tenth consecutive year.

China remained by far the USA’s biggest textile and clothing supplier but imports from China were down sharply in value terms and in volume terms. There were also sharp declines in imports from several of the other nine supplying countries which ranked among the leading ten. The steepest decline in value terms was in US textile and clothing imports from Bangladesh, followed by those from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Mexico and Italy. In fact, the only increase in value or in volume was in the volume of US textile and clothing imports from Mexico.