This industry comprises wholesale distributors of piece goods, yarn goods (made from natural or manmade fibers), notions (including sewing accessories and hair accessories), and other dry goods. Products of the industry include belt and buckle assembly kits, buttons, shoulder pads, textiles, thread, apparel trimmings, and zippers. The industry also includes converters who buy fabric goods (except knit goods) in the grey market, contract to have them finished, and sell the finished product at wholesale. Converters of knit goods, however, are included in Industry Group 225. Establishments engaged primarily in the wholesale distribution of items considered home furnishings are classified under SIC 5023: Homefurnishings.
313311 (Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills)
313312 (Textile and Fabric Finishing (except Broad-woven Fabric) Mills)
422310 (Piece Goods, Notions, and Other Dry Goods Wholesalers)
In 2001, there were approximately 5,668 establishments in the piece goods and notions industry. The states with the largest number of establishments in the industry were New York with 24 percent and California with about 21 percent. In 2003, the industry increased to 6,887 establishments with 58,057 employees. The average number of employees per establishment was nine, and average sales per establishment was about $4 million. Sales for the industry totaled approximately $25 million. States with the most textile mills were still New York with 1,653, and California with 1,467.
Piece goods and notions represented 1,196 establishments, or more than 17 percent of the market. Average sales were about $2.4 million. Following were piece goods and other fabrics with 1,120 establishments representing more than 16 percent of the market, and averaging about $2.8 million in sales.
Sellers of fabric goods and craft items to retailers experienced an upswing during the early to mid-1990s. As Americans began spending more time at home, sales for sewing and craft shops increased. Fabric wholesalers supplying the apparel industry, however, saw their customers dwindle in size and numbers. Industry employment decreased in the apparel industry during the first half of the 1990s. Thread sellers were unaffected because apparel cut in the United States and shipped abroad for assembly was ordinarily sewn with American-produced threads. Additionally, non-apparel uses for industry goods were steadily increasing into the 2000s.
For 2003, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI) reported that approximately 50 textile mills went out of business in the United States. As a result, the textile industry's employment rate declined by ten percent, or 428,000 workers. As the mills were shut down the average work week also fell one hour and 36 minutes over 2002. In addition to the shortened work week there were also pay cuts. There were a total of 50,000 thousand jobs lost by the end of 2002 in the United States. Fabric, yarn, and thread also declined about 8 percent down to $39 billion. Imports from China, however, had an estimated 40 percent price gain in regards to their currency over the United States. China's imports stood at 85 percent, with China controlling about 19 percent of the U.S. textile market.
One of the largest organizations involved in this industry was Marubeni America Corporation. Marubeni America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation (a Japanese general trading company), was incorporated in 1951. Its headquarters were located in New York City, and the company operated 14 other branches and offices throughout the United States.
Marubeni America's Textile Division offered an assortment of products in the international marketplace. According to a published company statement, although fabrics represented the "backbone of the division's success," the company was expanding its interest in natural and synthetic fibers, yarns, and raw American cotton.
Marubeni America operated other product divisions in addition to its Textile Division. These included metal and mineral, machinery, chemical, plastics and inorganic chemicals, agri-commodity, and general merchandise.
Other industry leaders include ITOCHU International Inc. (ITOCHU Cotton Inc.) and China Industrial Group, both located in New York City.
D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions. Industry Reports 2003. Available from http://www.zapdata.com .
Hoover's Company Profiles, April 2004. Available from http://www.hoovers.com .
Marubeni America Corporation. Company Report 2003. Available from http://www.marubeni-usa.com .
U.S. Department of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration. 1997 Economic Census-Wholesale Trade. Washington, D.C.: GPO, March 2000. Available from http://www.census.gov .
"Year-End Economic Report: Textile Industry Crisis Continued." American Textile Manufacturers Institute, 12 January 2004. Available from http://www.atmi.org/Newsroom/Releases/yrend03.asp .
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: