Ali International Station January Cross-Border Index: New Energy Continues to Lead, Energy-Saving Home Improvement Becomes Popular

At the beginning of 2023 , what new trends will there be in foreign trade? Recently, Alibaba International Station released the cross-border index for January 2023, showing that the blizzard weather in the United States has brought significant opportunities for China's flexible customized clothing, especially the export of cold-proof clothing has increased by 29% year-on-year. In Europe, home renovation has become a trend, and Chinese building materials companies will usher in more business opportunities.

In addition, on Alibaba International Station, the growth rate of high-quality business opportunities in the new energy industry exceeded 94 % , continuing to lead the way.

Sub-title : The sudden snowstorm in the United States has led to a surge in demand for flexible customized clothing in China

As the northern hemisphere enters winter, especially recently the US National Weather Service announced that many parts of the United States will usher in a new round of winter storms, blizzards, freezing rain and tornadoes in 2023. This weather change has finally made China's clothing foreign trade supply chain "hot".

Data from Alibaba International Station shows that currently, demand for all types of clothing in the United States has rebounded significantly, and exports of commuting and cold-proof clothing from China have performed well, with exports of overcoats and cold-proof clothing increasing by 29% year-on-year.

In particular, among the top ten rising categories with high growth in overseas orders in recent times, eight are clothing-related categories, among which orders for men's autumn clothes and autumn trousers rank first and second respectively.

Figure : Among the top ten categories with high growth in overseas orders recently, 8 are clothing-related categories

Especially because this round of weather changes came suddenly, the domestic demand for flexible customized clothing has increased significantly, and "fast" has become the keyword for this round of clothing business opportunities.

Saier Clothing, an Alibaba International Station merchant from Weifang, Shandong, said that they can launch nearly a thousand new clothing products every week. From placing an order to receiving the goods, Saier's flexible supply chain can ship finished clothing to the United States within three weeks.

Sun Hongxiang, director of foreign trade operations at Saier Garments, said that since October last year, the company has been overwhelmed with orders for sweaters and cotton clothes from the United States. "Although people have been saying that textile foreign trade is not doing well in the past two years, our small-order, quick-return clothing customization has maintained a 100% growth rate every year."

There is also Amy Clothing, an Alibaba International Station merchant from Jining, Shandong, which also said that the company has been unable to accept large orders since August last year.

China is the world's largest exporter of clothing. China's clothing manufacturing has a complete industrial chain and cluster effect, which makes the flexible manufacturing capabilities of "trend design" and "small orders and fast returns" have significant advantages in cross-border e-commerce. The cross-border export of flexible customized clothing continues to grow rapidly, with an annual growth rate of 34% since 2020.

Figure : Cross-border exports of flexible customized clothing continue to grow rapidly, with an annual growth rate of 34% since 2020

Qin Fen, head of the Alibaba International Station industry, said that the recent warming of clothing foreign trade cannot be ruled out as being affected by short-term sudden and accidental factors, but it is inevitable in the long run: as domestic merchants continue to pay more attention to and increase their operational capabilities on cross-border e-commerce platforms, their sensitivity and responsiveness to sudden demands in overseas markets have greatly improved, so they can always "outperform" competitors in other countries and gain market dividends in the first place.

Overseas home renovation has become a trend, and Europe and the United States are in urgent need of "Chinese construction teams"

Alibaba International Station Cross-Border Index also shows that overseas home renovation is also a hot trend. This means that Chinese building materials companies with overseas engineering capabilities will become the biggest beneficiaries of this business opportunity. Overseas countries need not only products, but also "Chinese construction teams".

This demand comes from the EU's new requirement that new houses must meet low-energy building standards. At the same time, the EU also plans to regularly complete the renovation of all existing buildings. Among them, the area of ​​government-managed public buildings is required to be renovated at least 3% each year. Governments have provided corresponding financial support for house energy-saving renovation. Data shows that by 2026 , the size of the entire EU building renovation market is expected to increase from US$950 billion to US$1012 billion.

The surge in market demand has driven the growth of home improvement building materials exports. Foshan Nanhai Hongzhou Wood Industry Co., Ltd., a 14-year-old Alibaba International Station merchant, mainly sells cabinets, wardrobes, and bathroom cabinets, specializing in the North American market. In the complex and severe foreign trade environment in 2022, Hongzhou Wood Industry grew by 25% against the trend throughout the year, half of which came from Alibaba International Station.

Liu Weinan, head of Hongzhou Wood Industry, revealed that in the three years since the outbreak, the overseas home improvement market has been booming, with an annual growth rate of more than 20%. Launch carbon footprint accounting services.

New energy continues to lead   Alibaba International Station to launch carbon compliance services

Figure : On Alibaba International Station, the growth rate of high-quality business opportunities in the new energy industry reached 92%

Alibaba International Station's cross-border index shows that the new energy industry continues to lead the way, and China's new energy exports are expected to grow by 74% in 2023. Currently, on Alibaba International Station, the growth rate of high-quality business opportunities in the new energy industry has reached 92%, continuing to lead the overseas market. It is reported that on Alibaba International Station, the new energy industry has maintained triple-digit growth for three consecutive years.

The products involved in the new energy industry mainly include photovoltaic modules, lithium-ion batteries, etc., and the main export market is Europe. Especially with the EU's "carbon tariff" signal, the European market's demand for Chinese new energy products will further increase.

Recently, the European Parliament and EU governments have announced that "carbon tariffs" will be officially imposed from 2026, and importers must declare the carbon emissions contained in the goods they receive from October 2023. It is reported that Alibaba International Station has teamed up with a third-party certification agency to actively deploy carbon compliance, and it is expected to launch carbon compliance products on the service market in April to help merchants on the International Station actively launch carbon footprint accounting services.

Alibaba International Station

New Energy

Energy-saving home decoration