US Apparel Imports From The P.R.C. Rise As China's Cotton Cloth Exports Move Up 17.70% Month-On-Month In July

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U.S. apparel imports continue to rebound thanks to consumers’ robust demand. The value of U.S. apparel imports in August 2020 went up by 7.6% from July 2020 (seasonally adjusted), a new record high since March 2020 when COVID-19 broke out in the States.

As of August 2020, the volume of U.S. apparel imports has recovered to around 80% of the pre-coronavirus level.  

This result echoes the trend of U.S. apparel retail sales (NAICS 448), which also indicates a “V-shape” rebound since May 2020.

As fashion brands and retailers typically build their inventory for holiday sales (such as back to school, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) from July to October, the upward trend of U.S. apparel imports hopefully is expected last for another 1-2 months.

There is no evidence to suggest that U.S. fashion companies are giving up China as one of their essential apparel-sourcing bases.

Notably, since May 2020, China had quickly regained its position as the top apparel supplier to the U.S. market. From June to August 2020, China’s market shares have stably stayed at around 27-28% in value and 40-42% in quantity.

Meanwhile in China, According to the General Administration of Customs, in July, in China the exports of cotton cloth were 654 million meters, seeing a month-on-month increase of 17.70% and a year-on-year decrease of 1.55%.

While China imported 16 million meters of cotton cloth, which increased by 5.29% month-on-month and decreased by 34.42% year-on-year;

The net exports were 637 million meters, grew by 18.06% month-on-month imported 16 million meters of cotton cloth, increased by 5.29% month-on-month and decreased by 34.42% year-on-year..

From January to July 2020, the exports of China's cotton cloth totalled over 3.51 billion meters, down 24.77% year-on-year; while the imports of cotton cloth were 104 million meters, down 38.89% year-on-year.