The utilisation rate of Bangladesh’s garments among US firms fell sharply in 2026 to 78.9 per cent from 2025’s 88.2 per cent as buyers intentionally maintain a diverse sourcing base prioritising capacity, flexibility, inventory agility and regional balancing, a USFIA study said.
Slow speed-to-market, limited supply chain flexibility and compliance concerns remain major challenges in Bangladesh.
The country received a score of only 2.3 out of five for speed-to-market, reflecting logistical constraints and its geographical distance from major consumer markets.
Bangladesh achieved a historic milestone by surpassing China in the US apparel market for the first time in decades, according to the survey conducted by the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA).
During the first five months of 2026, Bangladesh accounted for 11.3 per cent of US apparel imports by value, after Vietnam’s 22.2 per cent share, while China’s share declined to 9.7 per cent.
Close to 47 per cent of surveyed firms reported that Bangladesh accounted for more than 10 per cent of their total sourcing value or volume, highlighting the country’s continued strategic importance to global buyers.
While Bangladesh continued to excel in cost-efficient, large-scale production, its longer lead times have become a competitive disadvantage as international retailers increasingly demanded faster inventory replenishment and shorter fashion cycles.
Despite the lower utilisation rate, the report presented an optimistic outlook for Bangladesh as it ranked the country as the second most popular ‘rising star’ for future sourcing expansion, with 46.7 per cent of respondents planning to increase sourcing from the country over the next two years, second only to Indonesia.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
