U.S. Apparel and Textile Imports from China Dip as Prices Rise

U.S. consumers were definitely in a conservative mood when it came to buying clothing in 2011.

Clothing and textile imports from overseas were down 2 percent for the year ending Nov. 30 when calculating imports by units. When it came to dollar value, imports jumped 9.2 percent, due primarily to rising raw-material costs that included cotton and polyester.

“Prices continue to go up while the number of garments goes down,” said Julie Hughes, president of the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel.

With 95 percent of U.S. clothing sourced from overseas, the country brought in $101.3 billion worth of apparel for the year ending Nov. 30, compared with $92.7 billion the previous year. But when calculated in square-meter equivalents, a fabric measurement, the United States imported only 54 billion SME, compared with 55.2 billion SME in 2010.

Part of the disparity was due to cotton prices, which started on a rocket-like ascent in November 2009, when cotton was at 72 cents a pound, and peaked at $2.30 a pound in March 2011. Since then, prices have leveled off quickly. Cotton now fetches about 90 cents a pound. For months, manufacturers were reluctant to pass on price hikes to retailers when the country was digging itself out of a deep recession. But eventually they had to relent or sacrifice profits.

Even sourcing in China, a country known for its low costs, has been affected. The value of its apparel and textiles shipped to the United States during the 12-month period was up 6.2 percent to $40.6 billion. But the number of units sent was down 2.5 percent to 25.2 billion SME. China accounts for 46 percent of all apparel and textiles imported by U.S. companies.

It was a different story for Vietnam, the second-largest apparel provider to the United States. That country, with its burgeoning garment industry, which accounts for Vietnam’s largest export product, saw the unit value of its clothing and textiles ordered by U.S. companies grow nearly 10 percent while the dollar value of those goods was up nearly 15 percent.

Vietnam shipped 9.85 billion SME valued at $7.2 billion to the United States as apparel companies tried to diversify their manufacturing sources.

India, the third-largest apparel and textile supplier to the United States, is on a growth path, too. Its apparel and textile exports to the United States rose nearly 2 percent in unit value last year to 3.3 billion SME. The value of those goods was up nearly 11 percent to $6 billion.