Imports Reveal Depth of Apparel’s Destocking Debacle
U.S. textile and apparel imports declined again in August, continuing an ongoing trend in the sector, 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 5.5 percent, comparing August 2023 with August 2022. This is less than July’s 9.3 percent year-on-year decline.
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In apparel alone, the decline was dire: 19.1 percent for August 2023 over August 2022, a number somewhat consistent with the decline of 18.2 percent for the month previous, July 2023 over July 2022. For January through August 2023, total apparel imports to the U.S. declined by 26.8 percent.
The numbers reflect the inventory problem the apparel sector has been working to address all year.
Of the top 10 major exporters to the U.S., six saw decreases in the month over month numbers that were somewhat consistent with decreases over the first eight months of 2023. Leading the pack with the steepest decrease was Bangladesh. It saw a decline of 30.8 percent comparing August 2023 with August 2022, and a similar decline of 31.1 percent for the period of the first eight months of 2023 over the same period the year before.
The two next largest decreases were seen in Egypt and Turkey. Exports from Egypt to the U.S. dropped 25.5 percent comparing August 2023 with August 2022, yet total textile and apparel exports jumped by 73.3 percent between January and August of this year. Turkey’s shipments to the U.S. dropped 20.7 percent comparing August 2023 with August 2022, and declined some 39 percent between January and August of this year. It is likely still feeling the effects of the devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that shook the southern and western regions of the country and parts of Syria earlier this year, killing 50,000 people and causing widespread damage to an area that is home to a sizable slice of the country’s garment industry.
Increasingly a supplier of choice for many diversifying away from China over forced labor issues, and where many Chinese manufacturers are headed to take advantage of cheaper workers, Vietnam was down 16.1 percent August 2023 over August 2022, and also down 25.6 percent between January and August of this year. Labor however is not as cheap as it once was in Vietnam, and paired with inflation it saw a cutback in garment orders.
China also saw a downward trajectory. Its shipments to the U.S. declined by 11.4 percent, August 2023 over August 2022, but double that number, 22.2 percent, comparing the first eight months of 2023 with the first eight months of 2022.
The biggest winner in the recent trade numbers was the Czech Republic. Exports to the U.S. from the Eastern European nation jumped 110.6 percent August 2023 over August 2022 but showed increases of only 14.0 percent for the period, January to August 2023 over the same period in 2022.
Mexico’s slice of the export pie increased by 40.5 percent, August of 2023 over August of 2022, and was up 48.1 percent in the period January to August 2023 over the same period in 2022. The increases suggest that nearshoring investments could be bearing fruit as companies focus on close-to-market manufacturing.
Malaysia saw a 0.9 percent decline in exports to the U.S., after a year-on-year increase of 172.4 percent in July 2023 compared with July 2022. Malaysia is seen as a transshipping destination for companies trying to avoid any implications with Xinjiang, the region of China targeted by the UFLPA or Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
