U.S. mills shipments fall for 7th straight year, ATMI says
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 17, 2003
Washington — U.S. textile mill shipments fell for the seventh consecutive year last year, according to a report from the American Textile Manufacturers Institute.
ATMI said the strong U.S. dollar has allowed textile imports from Asia to grab more of the domestic market and made exporting difficult for U.S. mills.
ATMI Chairman Van May called on the Bush administration and Congress to help the industry stay competitive.
"(This) ongoing economic crisis clearly indicates that our government must take steps to restore equitable conditions of competition for U.S. textile manufacturers and our 425,000 workers," May said. "The eight-point Textile Action Plan for Growth released by ATMI on Jan. 2 should serve as a playbook for the Bush administration and Congress."
Among the report's findings:
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Textile mill shipments of fabric, yarn, thread and finishing fell 5% in 2002 to $42.7 billion.
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Textile mill employment declined 10% in 2002, slightly more than the percentage decrease in 2001, to an average of 432,000.
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Since 1996, Asian prices for broadwoven fabrics have fallen 27% and yarn prices are down 35%.
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Imports into the United States of yarn, fabric and finished goods rose 20% in 2002 after a marginal decline in 2001. The increase was led by countries with devalued currencies, in particular China, whose exports to the U.S. doubled last year. Other sources of low-cost textiles were Pakistan, India, South Korea and Taiwan.
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U.S. textile exports, especially to Canada, Mexico and Europe, fell marginally in 2002, the second year in a row of decline.
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Total fiber consumption on the cotton spinning system, where yarn for most home furnishings and apparel use is produced, fell nearly 7% in 2002, the fifth consecutive annual decline. In 2001, the decline was 20%.
On the positive side, the report also said that textile corporate sales rose 2% in 2002 to $48 billion. This represents sales of corporations whose largest percentage of revenue comes from textile operations, including carpet and industrial textiles as well as fabric and yarn.
The U.S. textile industry operated in the black last year. After-tax profits were $1 billion, a jump from 2001 profits of $200 million. The earnings gain and the corporate increase largely reflect gains in carpets and industrial textiles rather than fabric and yarn.
