The slump in overall apparel imports to the U.S. from China—which has seen flat growth so far this year—doesn’t seem to have negatively impacted China’s place as a supplier for the U.S. outerwear market.
The dynamic of the outerwear sector, which is less price sensitive, more seasonal and often considered more of an investment than commodity-oriented clothing, are likely factors for imports of the category from China holding their own in the face in sourcing strategies that have caused companies to limit their exposure to U.S. tariff threats and spread out their overall apparel production.
That could also be because, based on the specialty fabrics and machinery needed to manufacture outerwear, sourcing executives have few places to turn.
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China and Vietnam, the number No. 1 and No. 2 suppliers of manmade fiber coats to the U.S., hold a combined 74 percent import market share of women’s and girls’, and a 70 percent market share of men’s and boy’s outerwear for the year through April. In comparison, the apparel sector as a whole has diversified its global manufacturing footprint, with all major Asian suppliers seeing gains, as have Western Hemisphere and African countries.
For the year-to-date through April, imports of women’s and girls’ outerwear from China increased 15.4 percent to $156.57 million in value, as men’s and boys’ rose 6.42 percent to $155.89 million. Outerwear imports from Vietnam in the same period jumped 28.92 percent in women’s and girls’ to a value of $142.99 million, and 39.55 percent in men’s and boys’ to $137.71 million.
Among the next tier of suppliers of the category, Indonesia, the No. 3 supplier for outerwear to the U.S., had mixed results in the period. Its shipments of women’s and girls’ outerwear were up 23.24 percent to $29.21 million, while men’s and boys’ were down 13.63 percent to $20.25 million. Indonesia holds a combined 5.74 percent import market share in the category.
Bangladesh, the No. 4 outerwear supplier, also saw contrary results. In men’s and boys’ outerwear, its shipments to the U.S. grew 36.42 percent in the period to $25.28 million, while in women’s and girls’ fell 1.09 percent to 19.85 million.
The smaller category of wool coats also saw China maintain its place as the top supplier. For the first four months of the year, China supplied $9.28 million worth of women’s and girls’ wool coats to the U.S., representing a 3.02 percent gain and holding a 36.28 percent import market share for the year through April, while men’s and boy’s wool coat shipments rose 37.57 percent to $3 million, with a 35.37 percent market share.
Italy is the second-place supplier in this category, with a combined market share of roughly 20 percent. The country’s shipments of women’s and girls’ wool coats increased 29.83 percent in the period to $15.45 million, while it supplied $5.71 million worth of men’s and boys’ wool coats to the U.S., an increase of 23.01 percent.
