Both the sheeting and terry towel in home textile category, experienced a significant double-digit decline in import orders for spring 2023 arrivals in the January-March period compared to the previous year, reveals New data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Within the sheeting category, the decline was more pronounced than in the terry towel category. Import volumes of man-made fiber (MMF) sheets plummeted by over 25% in terms of U.S. dollar volume. Notably, China, the largest contributor to these imports, shipped 25% less in terms of dollar volume and 19% less in terms of units.

Pakistan, on the other hand, made gains in both metrics but accounted for only slightly over 3% of total MMF sheet shipments to the U.S. during Q1. The decline in the cotton sheet category was even steeper, with a 33% decrease both in U.S. dollar volume and units. Pakistan emerged as the primary source of cotton sheet imports to the U.S., representing 40% of units imported, surpassing India (36%) and China (16%).

In contrast, cotton terry towel imports experienced a milder decline compared to the sheet categories. The total imports by U.S. dollar volume dropped by less than 4%, while units decreased by 13%. Pakistan surpassed India with a 37% share of units imported into the U.S., while India followed closely with 36%. China's share was 14%.