US imports of wool clothing were down by 13% in the first eight months of 2017, continuing the decline seeen over the past 20 months. According to the latest available data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), the US imported a total of 99.1 million square metres of wool clothing in the January-August 2017 period, the lowest for the eight month period since 1993. The total import value for the eight months in 2017 was US$1.76 billion, the lowest total since 2009 when the Global Financial Crisis crunched US imports of clothing. These results are very disappointing and worrying. The US is one of the world’s largest importers of wool clothing and is China’s second largest export market for wool clothing.

Further details including a chart showing the trends in the volume and value of US' imports of clothing by fibre type are provided in this week's edition of the NCWSBA Weekly Newsletter. Available to members only.