Following customers’ confidence for shopping after a disastrous 2020 in terms of both values and quantities, the US clothing sector has rebounded in 2021. According to a study, US apparel imports grew by 26.92 percent to $35.38 billion in H1’21, compared to H1 ’20. In terms of volume, imports increased by 38.39% Y-o-Y to 13,365.48 million SME.
The value of clothing imports into the United States fell 11.63 percent in the first half of 2021, to $ 40.04 billion. However, there was no significant drop in volume in the US, which decreased by only 0.23 percent compared to H1 ’19.
The two-year comparison and the slight decrease in volume-wise imports suggest that US customers are still importing garments in large numbers from all over the world. The drop in values, on the other hand, indicates that unit prices are tightening – especially for basic commodities – which will intensify competition for manufacturing sites in the coming months!
During the first half of the year, the US saw a significant drop in the unit price of imported apparels. UVR (Unit Value Realisation) per SME was $2.64 in H1 ’21, down from $2.88 in H1 ’20 and $2.99 in H1 ’19. These falling unit costs reflect the fierce competition that clothing exporters are seeing as the COVID-19 period progresses.
