Vietnam’s Share of U.S. Apparel Imports Hits New High in January

Vietnam gained 0.6 percentage points of U.S. apparel import share in January, reaching over 10% of all U.S. apparel imports for the month. Although still a distant number two to China’s 38% share, the Southeast Asian country is on track to become an even more significant trading partner in 2013.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, or OTEXA, Vietnam shipped $675 million worth of apparel into the U.S. in January or, in unit terms, 214 million SMEs (square meter equivalents).  Growth was driven by increases in cotton underwear, men’s woven shirts of cotton or manmade fiber, and women’s man-made coats, desses, and blouses. The cost per SME from Vietnam dropped 3.7%, less than the 4.9% cost decline for average apparel imports in the month.

Total apparel imports from China were $2.5 billion, a 2.3% decrease from January 2012 and a loss of 0.6 percentage points of share. The cost per SME of apparel imported from China fell by 6.4% in the month. There were significant increases in synthetic pants, wool sweaters, and men’s man-made fiber knit shirts, though these were more than offset by drops in women’s and girls cotton knit blouses and tops.

Related Stories

Topics

Shuffle Board: Macy's CEO, Boot Barn COO to Retire

Topics

CPB Nabs $700,000 in Fake Burberry, Chanel, Gucci Goods

The US imported $6.6 billion worth of apparel in January on a CIF basis, down almost 1% from the same month last year. The total value of cotton apparel declined slightly, while that of man-made fiber apparel increased overall.

Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh also enjoyed year-over-year share gains, while India and Cambodia saw their shares decline by 0.5 and 0.3 precentage points, respectively.