Cotton System Consumption and Stocks ISSN: 2378-2471 Released October 1, 2018, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Highlights July 2018 contained 31 days. August 2018 contained 30 days. Extra long staple cotton consumed on the cotton system was 1,010,000 pounds in August 2018, down 37 percent from July 2018 and down 15 percent from August 2017. August 2018 stocks on hand on the last Saturday of the month totaled 1.95 million pounds down 29 percent from July 2018 and down 4 percent from August 2017. Total Manmade fiber consumed on the cotton system was 36.5 million pounds during August 2018, down 8 percent from July 2018 but up 4 percent from August 2017. Of the total manmade fiber consumed, 93 percent was polyester staple. Total number of spindles on the cotton system was 1.30 million during August 2018. Active spindles consuming 100 percent cotton was 664,000 in August 2018, down 1 percent from July 2018 and down 1 percent from August 2017. Consumption and Stocks - United States: August 2018 with Comparisons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item : August 2017 : July 2018 : August 2018 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Extra long staple : Consumed : Running bales ....................................number: 2,435 3,257 2,034 Weight .....................................1,000 pounds: 1,187 1,615 1,010 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) : Running bales ....................................number: 4,079 5,473 3,912 Weight .....................................1,000 pounds: 2,031 2,733 1,947 : Rayon and acetate staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 976 538 740 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 1,045 1,383 1,801 : Polyester staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 32,213 37,276 34,092 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 22,026 24,686 23,508 : Other manmade fiber staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 2,003 1,725 1,701 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 2,025 2,793 3,137 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spindles in Place, Active Spindles and Spindle Hours Operated - United States: August 2018 with Comparisons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item : August 2017 : July 2018 : August 2018 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cotton-system spindles in place : Ring spindles .......................................1,000: 949 952 952 Airjet spindles .....................................1,000: 33 29 29 Open-end spindles ...................................1,000: 315 314 314 : Cotton-system spindles active : Spindles consuming 100% cotton ......................1,000: 672 673 664 million hours: 462 494 462 Spindles consuming 100% manmade fiber ...............1,000: 37 41 35 million hours: 21 20 20 Spindles consuming mixtures or blends ...............1,000: 549 554 560 million hours: 357 394 369 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Crops Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov. Lance Honig, Chief, Crops Branch............................. (202) 720-2127 Anthony Prillaman, Head, Field Crops Section................. (202) 720-2127 Natasha Bruton - Current Agricultural Industrial Reports.. (202) 401-0034 David Colwell - Current Agricultural Industrial Reports... (202) 720-3338 Chris Hawthorn - Corn, Flaxseed, Proso Millet............. (202) 720-9526 James Johanson - County Estimates, Hay.................... (202) 690-8533 Jeff Lemmons - Oats, Soybeans............................. (202) 690-3234 Jannety Mosley - Crop Weather, Barley..................... (202) 720-7621 Sammy Neal - Peanuts, Rice................................ (202) 720-7688 Jean Porter - Rye, Wheat.................................. (202) 720-8068 Bianca Pruneda - Cotton, Cotton Ginnings, Sorghum......... (202) 720-5944 Travis Thorson - Sunflower, Other Oilseeds................ 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