According to the latest available data (January to October 2017) on OTEXA, the year 2017 has been a moderate one for the US apparel import. Moving further, team Apparel Resources analyses and projects the trend the US apparel import will follow in the rest of the two months of 2017.

1. USA APPAREL
IMPORT TRADE DATA
January to December 2017

2. 2
Analysis
• Import by USA – The cumulative apparel import data of the US will rise until the end of 2017 as per the projection. The
country might note a 1.04% rise in volume terms during the January to December 2017 period as per our projection.
The largest apparel importer in the world is likely to import 27,164.17 million SME of apparels during the review period
as against 26,927 million SME in the prior-year period. Further, the country might fall by 0.68% in value terms on the
Y-o-Y basis. The UVR for the said period is predicted to be US $ 2.95 as against US $ 3.00 in the same period last year.
• Export from China – China will continue to be the top apparel exporter to the US during 2017. As per the available
data from January to October period China noted a surge in volume of exports by 1.93% however the country
dropped the unit prices of apparel to stay competitive in the global market. China will keep surging in volume-wise
apparel exports to the US for remaining two months of the year too. Our prediction indicates by December 2017,
China will export apparels to the US worth US $ 27.04 billion with a drop of 3.14% on Y-o-Y basis.
• Export from Vietnam – Vietnam is touching new heights in its apparel exports to the United States as the country is
set to clock US $ 11.43 billion (up 5.79%) from its apparel exports in the year 2017 ending 31st December.
• Export from Bangladesh – All through 2017 Bangladesh’ apparel exporters faced the challenges such as the
fluctuation in the currency value (appreciation of Taka against US dollar), longer shipping time, rise in production
cost and safety issues which pushed the country towards the declining trend in the US clothing market. Bangladesh
is projected to export apparels to the US market worth US $ 5.08 billion with a notable drop of 4.26% on Y-o-Y basis
in the review period.
• Export from India – Despite imposition of GST (Goods and Services Tax), India is likely to see a marginal surge of 1.79%
(with export value of US $ 3.70 billion in 2017 as against US $ 3.64 billion in 2016) in its apparel exports value to the
United States. However, the country might decline in the Rupee terms. India and Vietnam are the only countries in
top 5 exporters to the US who might see the positive change in the exports value in 2017.
2017: China’s dominance to decline in
US apparel imports; India and Vietnam
to gain significantly
Introduction
The US is projected to improve significantly in volume-wise apparel imports in the year 2017. In addition, the country
might put a pause on the rising import values by 0.68% on Y-o-Y basis. China’s reign as the apparel powerhouse to the
US will witness a dent, as the biggest sourcing destination in the world might fail to see positive change in the values
of exported apparels to the US. Staying competitive in the global apparel market and reducing unit prices cause a
setback for China. India and Vietnam, on the other hand, are likely to gain positivity in both volume and value of
apparel import to USA during January to December 2017 period, while Bangladesh will stay behind these two countries
in terms of percentage growth with (-) 0.47% drop in volumes and (-) 4.26% decrease in values.
J a n u a r y t o D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7 *

3. 3
* Data from Jan.-Oct. ’17 is officially available, whereas data for Nov.-Dec. ’17 is tentative
[The information has been extracted from US custom site and further analyzed.]
Change in Quantity
2.27%
Cotton MMF
3.60%12.11%
Wool
0.18%
Silk & Veg
Global Apparel Imports by the
US: Jan.-Dec. 2017*
0.88% 0.68% 1.67%
Change in Quantity Change in Value Change in UVR
Cotton
2.23%
MMF
2.04%
Wool
10.94%
Silk & Veg
9.06%
Change in Value

4. 4
Top 3 product categories imported
by USA
T-SHIRTS
Volume
(-0.93%)
Value
(1.08%)
Volume
(4.66%)
Value
(2.40%)
Volume
(3.25%)
Value
(0.10%)
LEGWEAR TROUSERS
UVR change in apparel imported
by USA (three-years comparison)
Jan.-Dec.'15
US $ 3.13
Jan.-Dec.'17
US $ 2.95
Jan.-Dec.'16
US $ 3.00
Value-wise share to USA by Top 4
apparel exporters (Jan.-Dec. ’17)*
33.74%
14.26%
6.33%
4.62%
China Vietnam Bangladesh India
India
Fact: Total number of sewers in USA
(approximately)
64
million
MMF apparel import by USA
2.04%
Value rises
Volume rises
3.60%
Month-wise US apparel import trend
(Value in US $ billion)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
Jan-17
Feb-17
Mar-17
Apr-17
May-17
Jun-17
Jul-17
Aug-17
Sep-17
Oct-17
Nov-17*
Dec-17*
6.98
6.12
5.82
5.63
6.11
6.57
7.73
8.23
7.55
7.66
6.10
5.68
* Data from Jan.-Oct. ’17 is officially available, whereas data for Nov.-Dec. ’17 is tentative
Infographics (USA)

5. 5
(For detail information on product-wise import export, refer to the tables on Page no. 7)
Infographics
(China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India)
* Data from Jan.-Oct. ’17 is officially available, whereas data for Nov.-Dec. ’17 is tentative
Comparison b/w India and
Bangladesh (T-shirt exports to USA)
Comparison b/w China and Vietnam
(Undergarment exports to USA)
Comparison b/w Bangladesh and
Vietnam (Trouser exports to USA)
Comparison b/w Bangladesh and
China (Men’s Shirt exports to USA)
Bangladesh
Volume
-1.08%
Value
-2.45%
India
Volume
4.43%
Value
3.93%
Vietnam
Volume
3.24%
Value
1.91%
China
Volume
4.20%
Value
5.78%
Vietnam
Volume
14.24%
Value
10.10%
Bangladesh
Volume
3.86%
Value
-1.21%
China
Volume
-6.88%
Value
-8.55%
Bangladesh
Volume
-11.15%
Value
-13.72%

6. 6
* Data from Jan.-Oct. ’17 is officially available, whereas data for Nov.-Dec. ’17 is tentative

7. 7
Total apparel exports to the US by 6 major manufacturing
destinations - Jan.-Dec.'17* (Qty in mn SME & Value US mn $)
Type of Apparel
Jan.-Dec. 2016 Jan.-Dec. 2017 (*) % Change (*)
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
Cotton 11771.99 38224.046 11504.95 37371.10 -2.27 -2.23
Wool 192.363 3282.211 169.07 2923.09 -12.11 -10.94
MMF 14652.29 37991.745 15180.37 38765.63 3.60 2.04
Silk & Veg 310.352 1215.831 309.79 1105.67 -0.18 -9.06
Total 26927.00 80713.83 27164.17 80165.50 0.88 -0.68
Countries
Jan.-Dec. 2016 Jan.-Dec. 2017 (*) % Change (*)
Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
India 1044.238 3640.269 1079.34 3705.26 3.36 1.79
Bangladesh 1862.265 5305.668 1853.43 5079.79 -0.47 -4.26
China 11174.81 27922.015 11358.55 27046.11 1.64 -3.14
Pakistan 534.705 1262.393 528.53 1274.53 -1.16 0.96
Sri Lanka 470.993 1967.302 467.62 1958.01 -0.72 -0.47
Vietnam 3352.373 10807.961 3586.54 11434.13 6.99 5.79
Total global apparel imports by the US - Jan.-Dec.'17*
(Qty in mn SME & Value in US mn $)
Item-wise quantity increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. ’17* (Qty in doz, legwear in dpr, babieswear in kg)
Item-wise value increase/decrease in apparel imports by the US: Jan.-Dec. ’17* (Value in US mn $)
APPAREL TYPE
Total Imports by US
Exports to US
China India Bangladesh Vietnam
2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change
Babieswear 113,954,876 117,950,283 3.51 54,839,888 58,220,736 6.16 8,025,435 8,022,555 -0.04 11,089,893 10,404,176 -6.18 9,394,530 11,055,410 17.68
Foundation Garments 56,974,367 59,583,065 4.58 32,134,885 32,386,496 0.78 1,708,898 1,602,492 -6.23 3,612,674 4,058,046 12.33 2,674,996 4,646,929 73.72
Jackets & Blazers 46,985,824 46,613,258 -0.79 18,324,668 18,226,123 -0.54 662,741 829,433 25.15 2,336,907 2,283,942 -2.27 7,680,354 7,790,041 1.43
Ladies Blouses 55,769,282 54,525,706 -2.23 22,979,284 21,743,135 -5.38 8,223,359 7,715,071 -6.18 3,185,632 2,951,914 -7.34 7,890,521 8,589,855 8.86
Ladies Dresses 58,970,606 58,902,686 -0.12 28,475,025 28,179,834 -1.04 4,259,919 4,632,107 8.74 1,730,791 1,493,505 -13.71 10,378,623 11,009,947 6.08
Ladies Skirts 14,797,417 12,182,709 -17.67 5,706,041 4,973,562 -12.84 671,463 578,427 -13.86 1,060,454 833,946 -21.36 3,269,791 2,729,754 -16.52
Legwear 332,161,873 347,646,819 4.66 206,471,931 224,882,151 8.92 2,771,342 4,055,691 46.34 73,553 31,975 -56.53 2,768,282 3,479,080 25.68
Men's Shirts 42,776,378 40,920,468 -4.34 8,953,568 8,337,442 -6.88 3,133,962 3,723,160 18.80 12,356,714 10,978,857 -11.15 4,590,698 4,785,180 4.24
Nightwear 52,158,025 52,877,672 1.38 31,679,078 32,168,985 1.55 3,127,445 2,985,073 -4.55 1,790,650 2,130,559 18.98 4,871,086 5,107,435 4.85
Suits / Ensembles 12,318,920 11,743,066 -4.67 6,038,673 5,827,870 -3.49 564,761 597,417 5.78 242,817 138,248 -43.06 2,143,085 2,136,711 -0.30
Sweaters 18,104,829 16,454,017 -9.12 14,791,621 13,114,212 -11.34 49,148 55,228 12.37 1,147,951 1,103,252 -3.89 375,022 369,878 -1.37
Trousers 285,610,882 294,899,808 3.25 81,980,955 85,545,333 4.35 5,064,488 3,196,437 -36.89 42,630,774 44,276,568 3.86 45,077,470 51,494,293 14.24
T-Shirts 560,365,769 555,155,135 -0.93 104,398,229 102,405,943 -1.91 23,037,628 24,058,278 4.43 20,789,044 20,564,332 -1.08 75,893,418 77,572,207 2.21
Undergarments 264,092,295 262,038,097 -0.78 50,619,944 52,747,603 4.20 17,760,329 17,766,751 0.04 25,418,008 27,153,853 6.83 46,344,639 47,844,081 3.24
APPAREL TYPE
Total Imports by US
Exports to US
China India Bangladesh Vietnam
2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change 2016 2017* % Change
Babieswear 2,314.22 2,315.67 0.06 1,065.56 1,057.41 -0.77 165.48 148.81 -10.08 204.83 232.37 13.44 211.32 239.48 13.33
Foundation Garments 2,580.10 2,691.47 4.32 1,202.14 1,133.59 -5.70 126.50 112.30 -11.23 77.04 92.99 20.71 150.48 309.75 105.84
Jackets & Blazers 6,834.56 6,634.79 -2.92 3,200.34 3,090.85 -3.42 91.19 105.45 15.63 329.18 311.72 -5.30 1311.79 1,277.79 -2.59
Ladies Blouses 3,666.73 3,562.94 -2.83 1,384.97 1,292.49 -6.68 615.54 590.44 -4.08 176.83 156.09 -11.73 424.06 452.72 6.76
Ladies Dresses 4,917.89 4,806.98 -2.26 2,289.49 2,149.06 -6.13 392.39 422.50 7.67 65.83 59.21 -10.05 699.51 715.47 2.28
Ladies Skirts 914.55 761.19 -16.77 326.50 280.04 -14.23 54.12 46.20 -14.63 42.88 34.71 -19.04 174.99 142.22 -18.73
Legwear 1,958.47 2,005.46 2.40 1,137.57 1,168.23 2.69 18.23 19.11 4.83 0.70 0.18 -74.29 14.77 16.77 13.56
Men's Shirts 3,496.98 3,294.32 -5.80 777.51 711.00 -8.55 244.17 262.83 7.64 711.58 613.95 -13.72 368.77 381.68 3.50
Nightwear 2,270.76 2,268.86 -0.08 1,346.06 1,339.18 -0.51 109.80 112.43 2.40 55.67 58.55 5.16 230.57 234.17 1.56
Suits / Ensembles 1,215.08 1,097.17 -9.70 291.16 263.49 -9.50 61.64 67.66 9.76 17.36 10.20 -41.26 167.42 142.96 -14.61
Sweaters 1,850.91 1,650.61 -10.82 1,485.94 1,279.91 -13.87 28.70 28.09 -2.13 44.13 43.59 -1.22 21.88 26.12 19.40
Trousers 17,869.03 17,886.70 0.10 4,517.70 4,418.73 -2.19 363.00 354.47 -2.35 2,385.65 2,356.73 -1.21 2669.57 2,939.12 10.10
T-Shirts 20,496.37 20,717.31 1.08 4621.182 4,516.23 -2.27 917.56 953.58 3.93 584.35 570.04 -2.45 3167.82 3,303.28 4.28
Undergarments 3,845.93 3,793.81 -1.36 794.30 840.20 5.78 302.09 310.23 2.70 285.86 291.59 2.00 549.54 560.06 1.91
* Data from Jan.-Oct. ’17 is officially available, whereas data for Nov.-Dec. ’17 is tentative