2026 Top 100 Importers & Exporters
Rising costs, changing sourcing
The prospect of rising costs for raw materials and transportation— due largely to the war in the Middle East— will further erode margins for struggling companies like VF Corp and Carter’ s.
Clothing manufacturers rely on petroleum-based textiles, including polyester, nylon and spandex, and they typically only hold six to eight weeks of inventory, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association( AAFA). The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, blocked to virtually all commercial shipping traffic since the war began on Feb. 28, has increased the price of those raw materials, as well as the cost of bunker fuel.
“ If this situation in Iran— or the knock-on effects thereof— lasts six months to a year, then we’ re talking about broader supply chain impacts,” AAFA Executive Vice President Nate Herman told the Journal of Commerce.
Apparel and footwear are essential goods, but consumers can delay purchases if their existing wardrobe functions. Shutterstock. com
“ You can’ t just sit there and say,‘ Everything’ s great.’”
At the same time, higher gasoline prices will act as a brake on consumer spending, particularly among lowerincome households forced to prioritize getting to and from work and school over discretionary purchases. Apparel and footwear are essential goods, but consumers can delay buying new items for as long as their existing wardrobe still functions, Herman explained.
Lingering uncertainty surrounding US import tariffs and trade policy will also continue to drag on ordering. Last year, significantly higher tariff costs, particularly for Chinese-made goods, prompted many apparel shippers to change their sourcing, as well as order less product, a trend that will likely continue this year given the industry’ s deep ties to Asia.
Apparel from China tumbles, SE Asia share climbs
Percentage share of containerized US apparel and footwear imports by origin
TEU market share
100 %
80 %
100 60 %
40 %
20 %
0 % L 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
China Vietnam Bangladesh Indonesia Cambodia Other
Source: PIERS, S & P Global © 2026 S & P Global
China’ s share of US apparel and footwear imports fell to 34.1 % in 2025 from 41.7 % in 2024, while southeast Asian countries Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Cambodia all gained share, according to PIERS. That shift can also be seen in routing decisions; inbound clothing shipments to the Port of New York and New Jersey, for example, grew 5 % last year, while imports to the Los Angeles – Long Beach port complex and Northwest Seaport Alliance slipped 1.7 % and 28.9 %, respectively.
Although the US Supreme Court’ s ruling invalidating tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act( IEEPA) puts importers in a position to recoup those duties, the administration is already moving to replace them with similar tariffs that are more likely to withstand legal challenges.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative( USTR) on March 11 launched two separate Section 301 investigations— one related to“ structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors” and a second aimed at forced labor— widely expected to result in new and higher tariffs. Neither investigation is specific to apparel, but the risk of additional tariffs, particularly on goods from Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Cambodia, could complicate efforts to diversify sourcing away from China.
Clothing companies are also paying close attention to the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement( USMCA), which could influence nearshoring strategies and cross-border freight flows via intermodal,
32 Journal of Commerce | May 4, 2026 www. joc. com