U.S. Narrow Fabric Imports

In July 2023, purchases abroad of narrow fabrics and schiffli machine embroidery decreased by -2.9% to 17M square meters for the first time since February 2023, thus ending a four-month rising trend. Over the period under review, imports showed a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in August 2022 with an increase of 17% against the previous month. As a result, imports reached the peak of 21M square meters. From September 2022 to July 2023, the growth of imports remained at a lower figure.

In value terms, narrow fabric imports shrank slightly to $99M (IndexBox estimates) in July 2023. Overall, imports recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in August 2022 when imports increased by 21% against the previous month. As a result, imports reached the peak of $126M. From September 2022 to July 2023, the growth of imports remained at a lower figure.

Imports by Country

Mexico (4.6M square meters), China (3.3M square meters) and Taiwan (Chinese) (2.1M square meters) were the main suppliers of narrow fabric imports to the United States, with a combined 59% share of total imports.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the biggest increases were in Mexico (with a CAGR of +1.6%), while purchases for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest narrow fabric suppliers to the United States were Mexico ($28M), China ($16M) and Taiwan (Chinese) ($13M), together accounting for 57% of total imports.

Mexico, with a CAGR of +1.5%, recorded the highest growth rate of the value of imports, in terms of the main suppliers over the period under review, while purchases for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Import Prices by Country

In July 2023, the narrow fabric price amounted to $5.8 per square meter (CIF, US), almost unchanged from the previous month. Overall, the import price, however, recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth appeared the most rapid in May 2023 when the average import price increased by 14% against the previous month. Over the period under review, average import prices attained the peak figure at $6.0 per square meter in August 2022; however, from September 2022 to July 2023, import prices stood at a somewhat lower figure.

Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin: the country with the highest price was South Korea ($6.1 per square meter), while the price for Japan ($3.8 per square meter) was amongst the lowest.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by India (+0.6%), while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform