For textile and apparel exporters, importers and sourcing teams tracking US demand, the report points to continued expansion backed by consumer spending, investment and exports, while higher imports and softer government spending weighed on the GDP calculation.
US real GDP growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.5 per cent in Q2 2026 from 2.1 per cent in Q1, as imports rose.
Consumer spending, investment and exports supported growth, partly offset by lower government spending.
For apparel and textile sourcing teams, stronger private demand but higher purchase prices signal watchpoints for US orders and costs.
The BEA said real GDP increased 0.4 per cent at a quarterly rate in the second quarter. The contributors to growth were increases in consumer spending, investment and exports, partly offset by a decrease in government spending. Imports, which are subtracted in calculating GDP, also increased.
Compared with the first quarter, the BEA said the slower real GDP growth reflected a downturn in government spending and decelerations in investment and exports, partly offset by an acceleration in consumer spending. Imports increased more in the second quarter than in the first quarter. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, rose 3.9 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a 1.7 per cent increase in the first quarter.
Price measures also moved higher in the quarter, according to the BEA. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 5.7 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 3.6 per cent in the first quarter. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 5.1 per cent, compared with 4.6 per cent, while the PCE price index excluding food and energy increased 3.4 per cent, compared with 4.4 per cent.
Exports and imports primarily reflected Census Bureau-BEA US International Trade in Goods and Services data and the Census Bureau Advance Economic Indicators Report for June. Within exports, the increase reflected higher goods exports, led by petroleum and related products, partly offset by lower services exports, led by travel and other business services, mainly financial services. Within imports, the increase primarily reflected higher goods imports, led by capital goods except automotive, mainly telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and related devices, and industrial equipment.
The BEA in a release also said that, with improvements in the concurrent production of its statistics, the 2026 annual updates of national, industry and regional data will begin on the same day for the first time on September 30, 2026.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk
