The imports of U.S. denim, which steadily bound off the extreme economic slowdown that contributed to Covid, scored a second straight month showing a bump in shipments. The latest report from the Textiles & Fashion Department of Commerce (OTEXA) shows that blue denim shipments have decreased by 32.19 percent to 1,69 billion dollars in August. This was a little more than the 35.26 percent year-to-year fall in the seven months through July.
Most denim brands and retailers have said that, while reducing import orders, their focus is on working through the inventory stored in stores. Levi Strauss & Co. announced Tuesday that its inventory situation had strengthened while announcing its third-quarter performance.
“The adverse effect on cash from sales due to the extensive temporary store closures and other important adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was more than offset by the company’s cost-cutting efforts and emphasis on working capital management, in particular controlling inventories, including reducing and canceling inventory contracts and redeploying basic inventory products to subsequent seasons, as well as securing extended payment terms with retailers, distributors and tenants, and actively enforcing recovery of receivables,” Levi Strauss & Co. “ Total inventories were up one-quarter relative to the end of the corresponding prior-year period, despite the sales decline of 27 percent, reflecting the company’s aggressive inventory actions in response to the COVID-19 business disruption.
The only major suppliers at the plus side of the ledger continued to be Venezuela and Cambodia. Jean deliveries in the first eight months of 2020 increased by 1.51 percent to 230.19 million dollars, while in OTEXA shipments in Cambodia soared by 23.2 percent to 89.03 million dollars. In that time denim clothing imports from now high source Bangladesh dropped 8,46% to 333,55 million dollars, and imports from No. 2 of Mexico dropped 50,89% to 274,45 million dollars. In August the losses from the previous month were decreased by both countries on an annual basis.
China’s plummeting market share persisted, slipping to the No. 4 provider in value behind Vietnam, OTEXA data revealed. The imports of jeans from China decreased marginally better than the 63,23 percent decrease of 60.21 percent month ago, to $205,94 million in the eight months. Even under a potential Biden administration, experts do not see China’s slide slowing much, which is expected to pursue a robust trade policy towards this country.
