US apparel imports from all sources rose in January 2025 by 18.5% to 2.35bn SME as signs of overstocking to curb US import tariffs appeared to take effect.

The data from the US Office of Apparel and Textiles (OTEXA) evidences the fourth consecutive month US apparel imports experienced double-digit growth in January 2025, as companies sought to build their stock in anticipation of new Trump tariffs.

Of the top 10 apparel suppliers to the US, nine saw an increase in shipment volumes during January.

Dr Sheng Lu, professor of apparel studies at the University of Delaware observes: “Specifically, in January 2025, US apparel went up by 18% in quantity and 19.3% in value from a year ago, both were the highest year-over-year growth since October 2024. This pattern was highly unusual as January was typically a light season for US apparel imports. Meanwhile, US apparel retail sales only slightly increased over the same period, suggesting that the import increase was primarily driven by factors other than increased consumer demand.”

US apparel imports in January – an overview

China, the biggest supplier of apparel to the US in volume terms, booked a 9.4% increase to 861m SME.

Vietnam, the second largest supplier of apparel to the US, saw a 17.1% increase in shipment volumes to the US to 400m SME.

Bangladesh, the third largest supplier of apparel to the US, saw the biggest jump in shipments of the ten, with apparel shipment volumes increasing 49.2% in January to 261m SME.

Indonesia saw the next biggest rise of 45.6% to 102m SME, followed by India which saw a 36.8% increase in shipment volumes to 130m SME.

Cambodia recorded a 31.1% increase in shipment volumes to 102m SME.

While Pakistan recorded a 20% increase to 63m SME.

When it comes to Central America, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua all saw apparel shipment volumes slide.

Mexico booked a 3.1% decline to 40m SME. Apparel shipment volumes from Nicaragua were 0.8% lower year-on-year to 46m SME.

Honduras saw the biggest fall in shipment volumes of the top 10 suppliers by 22.5% to 32m SME.

Are we witnessing the end of China’s reign as top US apparel supplier?

While shipment volumes from China to the US did rise in January compared to a year earlier, the Asian superpower continues to see erosion of its US market share.

Between January 2024-2025, China’s share of the US apparel import market fell 3.1% to 36.6% of the market.

In value terms, China accounted for 22.3% of US apparel imports in January 2025, a decrease from 23.4% the previous year.

Lu says this suggests fashion companies’ are worried about deteriorating US-China trade relations and additional tariffs targeting China during Trump’s second term.

“In comparison, US apparel imports from other leading Asian suppliers enjoyed substantial growth in January 2025, including Bangladesh (up 45.9%), India (up 33.6%), Indonesia (41.7%), and Cambodia (30.0%). In value, over 77.7% of US apparel imports came from Asia in January 2025, even higher than 74.8% in the previous year.

“The results again indicate emerging trends showing that in the context of US fashion companies’ sourcing diversification strategy, many are broadening the scope of their sourcing base within Asia. Conversations with industry insiders also indicate that vendors in China arrange for US fashion companies to source from their invested factories in other Asian countries.”

Nearsourcing still not fully taking off

The latest dataset shows US apparel imports from Central America continue to remain weak during January with either flat growth or a decline.

In January, US apparel and textile brands braced for impact after newly elected President Donald Trump warned Canadian and Mexican imports would be subject to 25% additional tariffs.

American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) president and CEO Steve Lamar said at the time: “Widespread tariff actions on Mexico, Canada, and China … will inject massive costs into our inflation-weary economy while exposing us to a damaging tit-for-tat tariff war that will harm key export markets that US farmers and manufacturers need. We should be forging deeper collaboration with our free trade agreement partners, not taking actions that call into question the very foundation of that partnership.”

This was then paused in February. And then the Trump Administration confirmed USMCA goods would be exempt from the tariffs.

Still, it would appear the uncertainty is proving problematic for apparel brands and retailers to draw up their trade strategies. And it could lessen the focus on nearshoring.

Lu observes: “There is no evidence that suggests the current turbulent business environment has prompted fashion companies to expand nearshoring.”

By Just Style