US Women Jeans Imports Rises 2.2 percent While Men`s Jeans Imports Fall 2 Percent | 2015

The US imports of denim apparel including jeans  show an overall fall of 0.3% in the period Jan-Sept,2015 compared to the same period like last year. This shows the total demand for denim jeans and apparel is almost same with a marginal fall. However, the total demand of denim apparel in US still lags behind that of 2013 figures by a good margin. Against a total imports of denim apparel of about 522 million pieces in 2013, the country is struggling to even reach a figure of 500 million pieces in imports . In 2014, the imports stuck at 479 million pcs and are likely to be similar quantity this year- may be with a slight fall as we see the figures of 2015 till September.

US Imports of Denim Apparel (in million pcs)

The US market is more or less a saturated market and the  fashion , styles , market shares of brands, prices etc are the main parameters witnessing changes. The quantities and average consumption have reached a ceiling which was defined in 2005.

However looking a bit deeper we find some interesting dynamics. The women’s jeans seem not to be losing their sheen as the imports and hence sales are witnessing a growth for this segment. The imports of women’s jeans increased by about 2.2% in the year 2015 and at the same time, the men’s jeans imports fell by about 2% creating a net balance on import figures.

Let’s look at the figures of women’s and men’s jeans and denim apparel  imports and their respective prices below. We will also see interesting info. on changing dynamics of supplier countries for these two segments.

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Women’s Denim Apparel Imports (2013-2015)

From the above table, we can see that the imports of denim apparel for women has shown an increase of about 2 % in the current year till Sept 2015. The average price remains more or less same in the last 4 years – hovering around $8.00 . Extrapolating the figures of current imports, it is likely that the figures of denim imports for women will cross 225 million pcs in the current year.

Men’s Denim Apparel Imports (2013-2015)

When we look at the men’s denim apparel, we find that the figures of imports reflect a fall in imports this year of upto 2%. From a high of 269 million pieces imports in 2013, 2014  closed at about 256 million pcs and 2015 seems likely to close lesser than 250 million pcs. This reflects that men’s jeans market is still not out of the tough time that has been going on for the market in the last few years . The price for men’s jeans is a tad higher than women’s but is more or less the same.

Let’s now look at how the two segments of denim market are being catered by supplier countries from around the world. First we look at women’s jeans and its supplier countries.

Women Denim Apparel Supplier Countries 2015 (Jan-Sept)

Note: All figures in million pcs.

From the above table we can see that China continues to dominate the women jeans market in US . Though its share has fallen over the years, it is still the largest supplier of women’s jeans to US. Bangladesh comes second after China followed by Pakistan and Vietnam. While Bangladesh and Pakistan have been growing their exports, Vietnam is a surprising challenger and it is expected to grow much faster once the TPP deal is implemented. Also, surprisingly, Mexico stands nowhere where the women’s jeans are concerned as the country could not gear itself up to cater to fashion products. Another country which has shown sudden spurt in exports is Indonesia. It has almost doubled its exports of women’s jeans to US.

Men’s Denim Apparel Supplier Countries 2015 (Jan-Sept)

Note:All figures in million pcs.

Mexico comes back in picture when we consider the men’s jeans and apparel as it is the number one supplier to US . However, Bangladesh manages to displace China as the number 2 supplier as it has done in EU also. Bangladesh has shown great figures in the last 2 years and have surprised analysts and industry people. The country that has shown growth in exports despite falling imports of mens jeans is Pakistan – which on the strength of its growing industry has been able to increase its exports despite fall in category imports. India, on a small base , has also shown improved exports.

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