Textile supply chain in the US provided employment to 471,046 individuals in 2024. Credit: Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock.

At the 21st annual meeting in Washington, DC, the NCTO revealed the textile industry saw man-made fibre, textile, and apparel shipments valued at approximately $63.9bn in 2024, a 1.3% decrease from $64.8bn in 2023.

Breakdowns include $25bn from textile mills, $23.6bn in textile products, $9.8bn in apparel, and $5.5bn in man-made fibres.

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However, the US maintained its position as the second-largest exporter of textile-related products globally.

Numbers in brief

  • Exports of fibres, textiles, and apparel from the country totalled $28bn in 2024, down from $29.7bn the previous year.
  • Fabric exports led with a value of $8.0bn, followed by apparel at $7.1bn and cotton, wool, and fine animal hair at $5.0bn, yarns at $4.0bn and home furnishings, carpet and non-apparel sewn products at $3.9bn.
  • Investments in new plants and equipment by the US textile and apparel industry reached $3bn in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
  • Employment within the US textile supply chain stood at 471,046 in 2024. Georgia was the leading state for textile jobs with 39,141 positions, followed by North Carolina with 26,798 jobs.

Heilig said: “Our industry’s resilience and innovation is unparalleled and strong, despite economic and trade headwinds that have impacted our sector and our customers.

“The breadth of challenges we face every day is astonishing — economic downturns, predatory trade practices, such as the use of forced labour in supply chains, ill-conceived trade policies, inadequate customs enforcement of trade fraud, post-pandemic inventory related issues, freight and logistics challenges, and race-to-the-bottom business models that —all combined — are suppressing growth and investment, leading to a persistent and severe downturn in business.

“Despite the economic downturn and unfair trade practices impacting the industry in 2024, our metrics remained stable or registered only slight declines, with the exception of employment in the cotton and wool sectors. This again underscores the industry’s ability to adapt during challenging times and remain viable even while registering painful losses.”

Earlier this month, the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole, a collective of US entities including NCTO, urged US President Donald Trump with a request to permanently end the de minimis provision.