Apparel and Textile Imports Grew Slightly in July
Apparel and textile imports grew by 4.8 percent in July—or by 207.5 million square meters equivalent (SME)—compared with July 2005, according to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel.
The category consists of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blends, and non-cotton vegetable fiber textiles and apparel.
The largest gains came from South Korea, with a 19.6 percent increase; Hong Kong, with an 18.6 percent increase; and China, with a 7.5 percent increase.
Most of the country’s trade was conducted with China, with 1.66 billion SME in July. Mexican imports fell by 9.7 percent to 297.8 million SME, and Canadian imports dropped 14 percent to 183.7 SME.
For the year-to-date period, imports grew by 2.4 percent or 699 SME. Apparel imports fell 1.7 percent for the first half of 2006 to 12.2 billion SME.
—Robert McAllister
