Figures from the Department of Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) show that the volume of apparel imports was 2.8 per cent higher year-on-year at 1.85 billion square metre equivalents (SME) compared with the 2.3 billion SME imported in October.
August, September and October are the months when most of the holiday season's merchandise is brought into the country -- booking year-on-year gains of 5.5 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively in 2013. China remains the largest apparel supplier to the US, with its shipments rising 6.2 per cent to 778 million SME in November, outpacing that of each of the previous three months.
But second-largest supplier Vietnam also ranked as the fastest-growing, a hike of 16.9 per cent year-on-year to 185 million SME. Vietnam has been gaining as both producers and buyers diversify their supply chains by moving some manufacturing from China. <br/>
Vietnam is also buoyed by the expected benefits of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade treaty with countries including Canada and the US.
A stellar performance was also seen by Cambodia, whose shipments surged 11.96 per cent to 78 million SME, despite industrial unrest sparked by poor pay. But India edged up just 1.3 per cent to 62 million SME. Five of the top-ten apparel suppliers to the US saw their imports fall in November, the most notable being third-ranked Bangladesh.
In total, combined textile and apparel imports into the US climbed 5.2 per cent year-on-year in November to 4.452 billion SME. In textiles, shipments rose 6.97 per cent during the month to 2.6 billion SME. While monthly trade data is often volatile, with big swings from one month to the next, a broader year-to-date view shows total US apparel and textile imports were 4.5 per cent higher in the 11 months through November.
