In the first quarter of this year, the volume of apparel imports into the United States saw its first growth since the third quarter of 2022, with a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. However, the import value in US dollars decreased by 7.1%, marking the first time it has dropped to a single-digit level since the fourth quarter of 2022.
In the first quarter of this year, the unit price of apparel imported from China to the United States decreased by 9.6% year-on-year, while the import value increased by 9.8% year-on-year. The decrease in China's unit price was not significantly lower than that from other sources.
Over the past five years, the unit price of apparel imported from China has cumulatively dropped by 22%, while prices from other sources have increased across the board. In the first quarter of this year, the US showed a recovery trend in apparel imports from Vietnam, with a year-on-year increase in volume by 11.5% and a 0.9% increase in import value.
In the past five years, the import value of apparel from Vietnam to the US increased by 5% in US dollars, while the import value from China decreased by 40%. Restrictions on products from Xinjiang have benefited Vietnamese apparel exports, but Bangladesh has lagged behind. In the first quarter of this year, US imports of apparel from Bangladesh decreased by 11.9% year-on-year in volume and 17.7% in import value in US dollars. Bangladesh primarily exports woven apparels to US buyers, and due to the country's foreign exchange shortage, exporters find it challenging to have sufficient funds to import fabrics from China.
In the first quarter, the US saw a double-digit reduction in apparel imports from Indonesia, while imports from Cambodia rebounded, with a 23.4% increase in volume and an 11.1% increase in import value.
