Apparel and textile imports to the U.S. rose by 1.5 percent in November from a year earlier or an increase of 6.9 billion square meter equivalent (SME) versus 6.8 billion SME in November a year ago, according to the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the U.S. Department of Commerce (OTEXA). These numbers are slightly better than the total for the first 11 months of the 2023, compared with the same time frame a year earlier, where shipments dropped by 13.8 percent to 85.8 billion SME for January–November 2023, from 99.6 billion SME for the same period 12 months prior.
The country bucking the trend with the biggest increase in exports to the U.S. was Mexico, with a jump of 79.8 percent this November over last, or 443.9 million SME compared with 246.9 million SME in November 2022, according to OTEXA.
China also jumped a bit, by 9.5 percent this November over the same month a year ago. The number of units sent to the U.S. went up to 2.62 billion SME this year from 2.4 billion SME in November 2022, OTEXA reported.
Shipments to the U.S. from Vietnam increased by 9.0 percent, or up to 445.3 million SME from 408.7 million SME in 2022. Shipments from India were up 3.9 percent, or up to 713.2 million SME in November 2023 compared with 686.6 million SME in November 2022. Pakistan’s exports to the U.S. declined by 6.0 percent, or from 282.4 million SME in November to 265.3 million SME in the same 2022 month.
Turkey and Egypt showed almost neck-and-neck decreases in November over the same month in 2022, clocking in in the 20 percent range. Imports to the U.S. from Turkey in November stood at 24.6 percent lower than the same month a year ago, or down to 458.6 million SME in 2023 from 608.0 million SME in 2022. Egypt was down 21.7 percent, exporting 24.3 million SME in November of 2022 compared with 19.0 million SME in the same month this year.
Malaysia’s upward trend continued this November over last, although not at a rate comparable to previous years. This November shipments to the U.S. increased by 20.4 percent or 429.1 million SME in November 2023 from 356.2 million SME November of last year.
Shipments from Israel to the U.S. dropped by 5.6 percent, declining from 25.7 million SME a year ago in November to 24.2 million SME in November 2023.
OTEXA also reported that imports to the U.S. from the Czech Republic fell by 2.3 percent this November over last, or from 178.1 million SME in November of 2022 down to 174.0 million SME in November 2023.
