From week to week the US curtailed imports of many Chinese products and materials, the most relevant for the sporting goods industry being apparel (-59.1%).
The freight tracker Vizion (associated with Dun & Bradstreet) has reported a “collapse” in US import bookings from the week of March 24-31 to that of April 1-8. This comes after a “Q1 surge.”
In detail:
- Global 20-foot equivalents (TEUs): down 49 percent
- Overall US imports: down 64 percent
- Overall US exports: down 30 percent
- US imports from China: down 64 percent
- US exports to China: down 36 percent
- Overall bookings for apparel and accessories: down 59 percent
- Overall bookings for wool, fabrics and textiles: down 57 percent
From week to week the US curtailed imports of many Chinese products and materials, the most relevant for the sporting goods industry being apparel (-59.1%), wool & fabric (-57.1%), feathers & down (-54.0%), textile fabrics (-48.9%), fabrics (-40.5), metals (-37.7%) and natural-fiber products (-35.8%).
In Vizion’s analysis, “shippers moved early to get ahead of tariffs, and then hit the brakes as conditions changed.” The rest of the current year, Vizion continues, “is likely to bring continued volatility marked by demand swings, accelerated ordering patterns, and a re-evaluation of sourcing strategies the global response to these trade actions continues to unfold.”
