U.S. Textile Industry
The U.S. textile industry, our domestic suppliers, and customers include the following: yarn and fabric manufacturers; suppliers in the cotton, wool, and man-made fiber sectors; dyers, printers, and finishers; machinery and textile chemical industries; and our customers in the U.S. apparel sector.
The U.S. textile industry, along with our suppliers and customers, is an important component of the U.S. economy and is present in every region of the country. The industry provides much-needed jobs in rural areas and serves as a springboard for workers to move from poverty to well-paying jobs across generations.
The sector also makes an important contribution to our national defense and supplies more than 8,000 products each year to our uniformed men and women.
Finally, the industry is a major factor in high-tech innovation. Textile products are now a key component of everything from heart valves to stents, from aircraft bodies to advanced body armor.
Key Facts About the U.S. Textile Industry
- From textile fibers to apparel and other sewn products, the U.S. textile industry supply chain employed 538,067 workers in 2022. The U.S. government estimates that in this country, one textile manufacturing job supports three other jobs.
- U.S. textile and apparel shipments totaled $65.8 billion in 2022.
- The U.S. industry is the third-largest exporter of textile-related products in the world. Total fiber, textile, and apparel exports reached $34.0 billion in 2021.
- The U.S. textile industry supplies more than 8,000 different textile products to the U.S. military.
- The United States is a world leader in textile research and development through a textile complex that develops next-generation textile materials such as conductive fabrics with anti-static properties, electronic textiles that can monitor heart rate and other vital signs, antimicrobial fibers, and life-saving body armor. It also develops fabrics and apparel that help make the wearer warmer or cooler depending on the climate.
- The U.S. textile industry invested $20.9 billion in new plants and equipment from 2012 to 2022. More recently, U.S. manufacturers have opened new facilities throughout the textile production chain, including recycling plants designed to convert textiles and other waste into new textile uses and resins.
- In 2022, hourly paid, non-supervisory textile factory workers earned more than twice the average of clothing store employees ($845 per week vs. $416) and received health and retirement benefits.
Government statistics show that in states that are major textile producers, one textile job supports three additional jobs in the community. The reason is that producing a single textile product requires inputs from many sources.
The supply chain includes the processes of coloring, printing, and finishing the raw material (cotton grower or fiber producer), yarn, fabric, and final product. Textile jobs also support other jobs beyond the textile sector in chemicals, energy, transportation, railroads, banking, and water and energy production.
A textile factory is often the largest electricity user in a community and also an important source of property tax revenue. The payroll of a textile factory is often one of the largest among employers in many small towns, and its employees support restaurants, banks, insurance companies, grocery stores, retail shops, churches, other nonprofit organizations, and many other local institutions.
Selected Components of the Textile Industry Supply Chain
- Cotton growers, ginners, storage, and cotton transportation
- Man-made fiber producers
- Spinning machines and extruders
- Knitters and weavers
- Dyeing and finishing
- Fabric, apparel, and furniture designers
- Cutting and sewing
- Transportation
- Banking and insurance
- Machinery, parts, and service
- Chemicals
- Water and energy providers
- Retail and merchandising
"
Value of U.S. Textile Shipments
In 2022, the estimated value of U.S. man-made fiber and filament, textile, and apparel shipments was $65.8 billion. The year 2020 represented the first decline in shipments since 2009 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Breakdown of 2022 shipments by industry sectors:
- NAICS 313 – Textile Mills (Yarn and Fabrics): $27.5 billion
- NAICS 314 – Textile Product Mills (Home Furnishings, Carpets, and Other Non-Apparel Sewn Products): $23.7 billion
- NAICS 315 – Apparel: $9.0 billion
- NAICS 32522 – Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments (Human-Made Filaments and Fibers): estimated $5.6 billion
U.S. Capital Investment
The U.S. textile industry continues to remain globally competitive thanks to ongoing investment in domestic industry. The sector invested $20.9 billion in new plants and equipment from 2012 to 2021. Investment is needed not only in product development but also in processes. Recently, manufacturers have opened new fiber, yarn, and recycling facilities to convert textiles and other waste into new textile applications and resins. Over the last five years, investment has accelerated as foreign manufacturers have moved production to the United States.
Investment in Textile Mills and Textile Product Mills increased sharply, rising 45% from $1.56 billion in 2012 to $2.27 billion in 2021.
Employment in the Textile Industry
538,000 workers are employed in the U.S. textile industry supply chain. The 2022 figures include:
- NAICS 313 – Textile Mills (Yarn and Fabrics): 98,300 jobs
- NAICS 314 – Textile Product Mills (Home Furnishings, Carpets, and Non-Apparel Sewn Products): 104,200 jobs
- NAICS 315 – Apparel Manufacturing: 93,200 jobs
- NAICS 32522 – 25,800 jobs – Artificial and Synthetic Fiber and Filament Production (Human-Made Filaments and Fibers)
- Cotton agriculture and related industry: 115,200 jobs
- Wool growing and related industry: 101,400 jobs
English 
Turkish 
