Cotton System Consumption and Stocks

Cotton System Consumption and
Stocks
ISSN: 2378-2471

Released February 1, 2017, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA).

Highlights

November 2016 contained 30 days.
December 2016 contained 31 days.
Extra long staple cotton consumed on the cotton system was 1.34 million pounds in December 2016, up 31 percent from
November 2016 and up 47 percent from December 2015. December 2016 stocks on hand on the last Saturday of the
month totaled 1.16 million pounds down slightly from November 2016 and down 26 percent from December 2015.
Total Manmade fiber consumed on the cotton system was 25.1 million pounds during December 2016, down 9 percent
from November 2016 and down 8 percent from December 2015. Of the total manmade fiber consumed, 91 percent was
polyester staple.
Total number of spindles on the cotton system was 1.27 million during December 2016. Active spindles consuming
100 percent cotton was 751 thousand in December 2016, up 2 percent from November 2016 and up 23 percent from
December 2015.

Consumption and Stocks – United States: December 2016 with Comparisons
Item
Extra long staple
Consumed
Running bales ...................................................................................... number
Weight .........................................................................................1,000 pounds
Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month)
Running bales ...................................................................................... number
Weight .........................................................................................1,000 pounds

December 2015

November 2016

December 2016

1,838
914

2,034
1,026

2,794
1,340

3,131
1,563

2,274
1,164

2,271
1,160

Rayon and acetate staple
Consumed ......................................................................................1,000 pounds
Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ...................................1,000 pounds

777
1,401

1,417
1,404

798
2,325

Polyester staple
Consumed ......................................................................................1,000 pounds
Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ...................................1,000 pounds

24,567
23,751

24,764
26,387

22,935
24,097

Other manmade fiber staple
Consumed ......................................................................................1,000 pounds
Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ...................................1,000 pounds

1,891
2,861

1,417
1,684

1,373
2,140

Spindles in Place, Active Spindles and Spindle Hours Operated – United States: December 2016
with Comparisons
Item

December 2015

November 2016

December 2016

Cotton-system spindles in place
Ring spindles .............................................................................................. 1,000
Airjet spindles .............................................................................................. 1,000
Open-end spindles ...................................................................................... 1,000

741
30
365

867
32
344

892
32
344

Cotton-system spindles active
Spindles consuming 100% cotton ............................................................... 1,000
million hours
Spindles consuming 100% manmade fiber .................................................. 1,000
million hours
Spindles consuming mixtures or blends ...................................................... 1,000
million hours

609
326
31
13
445
257

735
468
30
13
454
246

751
390
30
11
458
234

2

Cotton System Consumption and Stocks (February 2017)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

Statistical Methodology
Survey Procedures: Cotton System Consumption and Stocks is part of the Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR)
program. CAIR reports are administered under NASS’s Census of Agriculture program. Response to CAIR surveys are
required by law (Title 7, U.S. Code). Data are collected from all known mills that consume cotton.
The census universe was determined during operation profile interviews which were completed for each potential facility
to identify the presence of cotton consumption and spindle activity in 2014.
In the Cotton and Manmade Fiber Staple survey questionnaires, mills are asked for previous calendar month data on
cotton and manmade fiber consumed, stocks and spindle activity. Mills are mailed questionnaires with the options of
completing the survey by mail or by Electronic Data Reporting (EDR). For surveys not received in a reasonable amount
of time, telephone follow-up is conducted.
Estimating Procedures: Imputation is done for operations with non-response by using historical data and current data
relationships. Data for reporting firms are added to estimates for non-reporting firms to obtain National totals.
Revision Policy: Data are revised the following month based on late reports or corrected data. Final figures are published
in the annual summary of the following year.
Reliability: Approximately 50 reports are received each month which represent about 95 percent of total spindles.
Monthly data can vary due to different firms reporting month to month. Survey data are also subject to non-sampling
errors such as omissions and mistakes in reporting and in processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured
directly, they are minimized by carefully reviewing all reported data for consistency and reasonableness.

Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity statisticians in the Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch of the National
Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to [email protected].
Jody McDaniel, Chief, Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch ............................................ (202) 720-6146
Scott Shimmin, Head, Environmental and Demographics Section .................................................................. (202) 720-0684
Stephanie Brennan – Field Crops Chemical Use ...................................................................................... (202) 690-0392
Natasha Bruton – Current Agricultural Industrial Reports ........................................................................ (202) 720-7644
Courtney Charles– Current Agricultural Industrial Reports...................................................................... (202) 690-3226
Ryan Cowen - Farms, Land in Farms, Census of Agriculture................................................................... (202) 690-3233
Doug Farmer – Vegetable Chemical Use .................................................................................................. (202) 720-7492
Virginia Harris – Census of Agriculture.................................................................................................... (502) 582-5293
Megan Lipke – Census of Agriculture ...................................................................................................... (202) 720-5881
Dominique Sims – Census of Agriculture ................................................................................................. (202) 690-4752
Theresa Varner – Farm Labor, Chemical Use ........................................................................................... (202) 690-2284

Cotton System Consumption and Stocks (February 2017)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

3

Access to NASS Reports
For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways:
 All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov
 Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free
subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on “National” or “State” in upper right corner above “search”
box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540,
7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: [email protected].

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and
applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity,
religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual
orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected
genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not
all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html,
or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of
the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at [email protected].