U.S. textile and apparel imports declined in July, according to the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the U.S. Department of Commerce (OTEXA).
According to OTEXA, imports of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blends and non-cotton vegetable fiber textile and apparel products slid by 15.6 percent in July of this year, for a total of 14.89 billion square meter equivalents (SME). Broken out, imports of textiles were down 11.5 percent in July for a total of 593.9 SME, while imports of apparel were down 18.1 percent for the month, for a total of 8.95 billion SME.
For the period of July 2022 to July 2023, imports of textiles and apparel slid 29.8 percent, for a total of 91.30 billion SME, while imports of textiles alone dropped slightly less, by 25.9 percent. Imports of apparel alone in that year-long period dropped 32.3 percent, registering total imports of 54.16 billion SME.
Half the countries in the top 10 nations experienced drops in exports to the U.S.
Vietnam registered a drop of almost 20 percent July year over year. Manufacturing in Vietnam has always been cheaper than in China but how long that will be the case remains to be seen. Vietnam’s monthly minimum wage, climbing for the past decade, rose to $141.92-$204.36 last year, a year marked by inflation that forced many to cut back garment orders.
China and India both registered decreases of about 17 percent in July year over year, with comparable decreases for both, in the 25 percent range, comparing the first six months of 2023 with the first six months of 2022. China was down to 28.82 billion SME from 34.83 billion SME, and India dropped to 7.54 billion SME from 9.10 billion SME.
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Pakistan was down by 12 percent, July year over year, to 7.54 billion SME from 9.10 billion SME a year earlier, but down 20 percent comparing the first six months of 2023 with the same period a year ago. Turkey seems to have stanched the slide in July, with a decrease of only 4.6 percent, clocking in at 2.64 billion SME from 3.00 billion SME last year. This is relatively minor when compared to a loss of 41.3 percent comparing the first six months of 2023 with the first six months of 2022. That is likely attributable to devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that shook the southern and western regions of Turkey and parts of Syria in February, killing some 50,000 people and causing widespread damage to an area that is home to a sizable slice of the country’s garment industry.
One unusual blip in the OTEXA numbers for July was Malaysia. It registered a year-on-year increase of 172.4 percent in July after registering only an 11.2 percent increase comparing the first six months of 2023 with the first six months of last year, registering 4.44 billion SME this year, compared to 1.63 billion SME last year. The country has a well-established textile industry, according to Technavio, a consulting firm, which predicts the sector will grow by $2.35 billion between 2022 and 2026.
Malaysia’s numbers could be the result of companies transshipping product through the Asian nation to avoid implications with Xinjiang. This is the region of China targeted by the UFLPA, or Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has enforced since June of 2022. The landmark law operates under the rebuttable presumption that goods linked to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are the product of forced labor and therefore inadmissible into the United States. From March 2022 to June of this year, customs officials seized a total of $1.7 billion worth of goods linked to the XUAR.
Yet, goods shipped directly from Malaysia and Vietnam together are worth six times what gets shipped directly from China, $1.4 billion vs. $223 million. This suggests that some importers are trying to skirt forced-labor restrictions.
Egypt saw an increase of 23.7 percent between this July and last, OTEXA said, registering 6.22 billion SME this year compared to 5.03 billion SME last year. That was considerably less than the jump between the first six months of 2023 and the first six months of 2022, which was 97 percent.
The Czech Republic increased by 9 percent July year over year, 2.90 billion SME this year compared to 2.66 billion SME last year. Bangladesh registered an increase of 3.7 percent July year over year, for 2.44 billion SME this year and 2.35 billion SME last. That’s better than the 31 percent decrease registered comparing the first six months of this year with the first six months of last.
Mexico showed a 10 percent gain, July year over year, clocking in with 8.05 billion SME this year and 7.34 billion SME last year. It is poised to serve apparel companies interested in producing closer to market.