There was a 20.7 percent surge in US’ imports of home textiles in the third quarter, including a 361 per cent surge in shipments linked to Welspun, says Panjiva, the supply-chain research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. The country’s imports of winter apparel fell by 21.1 per cent during the quarter, which included a 24.7 per cent drop in shipments linked to Sumec Corp, a Chinese importer of bulk commodities including apparel and textiles.

Panjiva’s data shows, total US imports of apparel, footwear and textiles imports rose by 0.8 percent year-over-year in September 2020. However, imports of apparel and footwear fell by 1.6 percent and 17.0 percent year-over-year, respectively, while textile imports spiked by 18.9 percent.

COVID-19 has driven many shoppers to invest in athleisure apparels instead of work-appropriate attire. This can be corroborated by a rise in shipments of athleisure apparel, while imports of suits and shirts dropped 17.6 percent. Even spending on kids’ apparel for kids has slowed as parents faced uncertainties over what the school year would bring.