The Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA) has reported that US jeans imports reached $1.44 billion, increasing 32.87% in the first six months of 2021. Robert Antoshak, CEO of consultancy Textile Projects, said some denim production is moving back to the Western Hemisphere. The factors behind the growth are favoring local production and bottlenecks of Asian supply chains.
Turkey posted an 86.34 % increase in the first half to $28.62 million, and Italy, with a 109.23 % jump in the period to $11.26 million. The high-end Japanese denim market also spiked with a 39.7 % increase in the six months to $9.74 million. Jeans imports from Mexico jumped 54.8 % in the first half of 2021 to a value of $286.28 million and an 18.06 percent market share.
Imports from Pakistan increased 49.96 % to $150.97 million, 25.85 % of the total market share, and shipments from Sri Lanka jumped 46.89 percent to $29.59 million. India has also gained ground in the sector, and its shipments increased 36.91 percent in the period to $18.64 million.
Julia K. Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association, said, “Denim import data reflects a clear shift by many companies to diversify their sourcing base and moving away from China to other key suppliers.”
