US Apparel, Footwear Production Spikes Alongside Rise in Imports, Says AAFA
The U.S. is reviving domestic apparel and footwear manufacturing, but the country still imported 97 percent of clothes and 98 percent of shoes Americans purchased in 2013, said the American Apparel and Footwear Association in two reports released on Jan.…
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9 (here). The import share of the U.S. apparel market did slightly drop, although apparel imports spiked nearly 5 percent by total volume in 2013, said AAFA. The U.S. also imported 4 percent less apparel from free trade agreement partners, notably Central American countries, and through preference programs that year, said the apparel report. Meanwhile, U.S. shoe production spiked significantly, more than 8 percent, between 2012 and 2013, but imports also rose by similar figures, said AAFA in its footwear report. China remains the largest apparel and shoe exporter to the U.S., followed by Vietnam in both sectors, said AAFA.