美國人買便宜衣服的日子一去不復返

　　美國人買便宜衣服的日子一去不復返

　　FOR decades, declining prices have helped American consumers spend less on one critical part of every family’s budget: clothing. But those days may be ending.

　　數(shù)十年來，價格的下降讓美國消費者在家庭預算的一個重要組成部分上支出減少了，這部分就是服裝。但這樣的日子可能會一去不復返。

　　The government reported this week that consumer prices for apparel rose 0.6 percent in 2013. That is hardly rampant inflation, but it was the third consecutive year that apparel prices increased. Before 2011, those prices had risen in only two of the previous 13 years.

　　根據(jù)美國政府本周發(fā)布的報告，服裝的消費價格在2013年上漲了0.6%。漲幅雖然小，但已經是服裝價格連續(xù)第三年上漲。在2011年之前的13年里，服裝價格只有兩年出現(xiàn)過上漲。

　　The long stretch of falling apparel prices was largely attributable to an era of cheap imports, as China emerged from economic isolation to become the world’s largest exporter. That emergence damaged the apparel industries in all major industrial countries, but it was a boon to living standards for consumers, who were left with more money for other purchases.

　　服裝價格長期下降的主要原因，是中國對外開放經濟，逐漸成為世界上最大的出口國，一個以低廉價格進口服裝的時代也隨之形成。這讓所有主要工業(yè)國家的服裝生產業(yè)蒙受了損失，但對于消費者的生活水平而言卻是一個福音，因為大家可以省下更多的錢來購買其他東西。

　　In 1987, apparel accounted for 5.4 percent of all personal consumption spending in the United States. By 2009, that figure was down to 3.1 percent. In 2012, the year for which data is available, the figure had recovered a little, to 3.2 percent.

　　1987年，服裝占美國全部個人消費支出的5.4%。到2009年，這一數(shù)字下降到3.1%。2012年略有回升，達3.2%。2013年的數(shù)據(jù)尚未出來。

　　What may have marked the end of the era came in 2010, when unfavorable weather reduced cotton production in all three of the world’s largest producers — China, India and the United States. India briefly banned exports, and prices began to rise. In early 2011, the price of cotton briefly reached $2.19 a pound, compared with less than 70 cents at the beginning of 2010.

　　2010年發(fā)生的事件可能標志著以低廉價格進口服裝的時代結束了，在那一年，惡劣氣候導致中國、印度和美國這三個全球最大的棉花生產國產量減少。印度直接禁止了出口，棉花價格開始攀升。2011年上半年，棉花價格曾短暫升至每磅2.19美元(約合人民幣13.25元)，這個數(shù)字在2010年年初還不到70美分。

　　The price of cotton was back under $1 by the end of 2011, but that move helped to push American apparel inflation to 4.6 percent in 2011, the highest figure since 1990 and well above the overall inflation rate of 3 percent. It was the first time since 1991 that apparel prices had risen more than the overall inflation rate.

　　2011年底，棉花價格又回到1美元以下，但之前的一波升勢已經把美國服裝的通脹率推至了2011年的4.6%，創(chuàng)下自1990年以來的最高記錄，遠高于當年3%的整體通脹率。這是自1991年以來，服裝價格的上漲第一次超過了整體通脹率。

　　The apparel inflation rate fell to 1.8 percent in 2012, a small amount over the inflation rate, and to 0.6 percent in 2013, well below the overall 1.5 percent rate.

　　2012年，服裝通脹率降至1.8%，略高于整體通脹率;2013年為0.6%，遠低于1.5%的整體通脹率。

　　This week’s report showed that apparel prices fell in December, as they always do during holiday sales. But the decline of 2.3 percent for the month was the smallest such dip in December in eight years — perhaps an indication that clothing retailers were more successful at avoiding deep discounts than they were in previous years. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics concluded, apparel prices were up 0.9 percent from November.

　　本周的報告顯示，去年的服裝價格在12月出現(xiàn)了下滑，每年的圣誕銷售季都會出現(xiàn)這樣的情況。但2.3%的月跌幅是8年以來12月跌幅中最小的——也許這是一個跡象，表明跟以前相比，服裝零售商更成功地避免了大幅折價出售商品。對季節(jié)性因素進行調整之后，美國勞工統(tǒng)計局(Bureau of Labor Statistics)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，去年12月的服裝價格比11月上漲了0.9%。

　　China remains a force for deflation in the world, but perhaps less than it was. With wages rising, it has lost some of its business in inexpensive apparel production to other countries, including Vietnam and Bangladesh. China provided a record 19.4 percent of American imports in the 12 months through November, but that figure is no longer rising at a rapid rate.

　　中國仍然是一支全球性的通貨緊縮力量，但其力度可能已經不如從前。隨著中國工資水平的上漲，它在廉價服裝生產領域的部分地盤已被越南和孟加拉國等國蠶食。到去年11月截止的12個月中，美國進口服裝的19.4%來自中國，這個數(shù)字雖然創(chuàng)下新高，但增幅已經放緩了。

　　Over the last 27 years — since the end of 1986 — American apparel prices have risen only 17 percent. The weakest prices have been in children’s clothing, an area where (parental) buyers may be particularly price-sensitive. The figures indicate that boys’ clothing prices rose a scant 1 percent over the period, while girls’ clothing prices declined 6 percent. Men’s clothing prices rose more rapidly than women’s, but shoes, up 29 percent over the period, rose more rapidly than any category of clothing.

　　在自1986年年底開始的過去27年中，美國服裝價格只上漲了17%。兒童服裝一直是增長最為乏力的門類，這可能是因為父母買家對該門類的價格特別敏感。數(shù)據(jù)表明，男孩服裝類價格漲幅僅為1%，而同期女孩服裝類價格下降了6%。男士服裝價格上漲速度快于女士服裝，但同期鞋類價格增幅達29%，高于服裝的所有其他門類。