Cotton System Consumption and Stocks ISSN: 2378-2471 Released November 2, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Highlights August 2026 contained 31 days. September 2026 contained 30 days. Extra long staple cotton consumed on the cotton system was 151,000 pounds in September 2026, up 22 percent from August 2026 and up 24 percent from September 2025. Total Manmade fiber consumed on the cotton system was 16.3 million pounds during September 2026, down 5 percent from August 2026 and down 11 percent from September 2025. Of the total manmade fiber consumed, 92 percent was polyester staple. Total number of spindles on the cotton system was 545,000 during September 2026. Active spindles consuming 100 percent cotton was 281,000 in September 2026, up 1 percent from August 2026 and up 1 percent from September 2025. Consumption and Stocks - United States: September 2026 with Comparisons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item :September 2025 : August 2026 :September 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Extra long staple : Consumed : Running bales ....................................number: 244 251 302 Weight .....................................1,000 pounds: 122 124 151 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) : Running bales ....................................number: 294 212 (D) Weight .....................................1,000 pounds: 147 105 (D) : Rayon and acetate staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 448 564 605 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 3,759 3,955 4,075 : Polyester staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 16,809 15,985 15,028 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 16,398 7,729 7,223 : Other manmade fiber staple : Consumed .....................................1,000 pounds: 1,040 579 649 Stocks on hand (last Saturday of the month) ..1,000 pounds: 1,799 1,100 1,706 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. Spindles in Place, Active Spindles and Spindle Hours Operated - United States: September 2026 with Comparisons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item :September 2025 : August 2026 :September 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cotton-system spindles in place : Ring spindles .......................................1,000: 379 379 379 Airjet spindles .....................................1,000: 20 20 20 Open-end spindles ...................................1,000: 174 146 146 : Cotton-system spindles active : Spindles consuming 100% cotton ......................1,000: 278 279 281 million hours: 187 (D) (D) Spindles consuming 100% manmade fiber ...............1,000: 18 11 11 million hours: 7 6 5 Spindles consuming mixtures or blends ...............1,000: 213 186 186 million hours: 86 90 82 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 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. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service - Estimation Branch Contacts For more information about specific data items, please contact the Estimation Branch staff members below. You can also email inquiries to nass@usda.gov. Anthony Prillaman, Associate Deputy Administrator................................................................ ............................................................................. ............................................................................. ................................... 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