At the recent meeting of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), Chairman William McCrary Jr. laid out the association’s priorities in an atmosphere of pro-growth optimism. McCrary announced that shipments of textile products—man-made fiber, filaments, textile and apparel—were valued at $77 billion in 2017, up almost 4 percent from the previous year. Of the total, $31.5 billion represented yarns and fabrics, $26.6 for home furnishings, carpet and other non-apparel products; $12.5 for apparel and legwear and $7.3 billion for man-made fibers.
McCrary said that of the 550,500 workers, 112,300 were in companies making yarn and fabrics, 114,000 in home furnishings etc.; 119,300 in apparel manufacturing; 25,100 in operations for man-made fibers and the rest in supply chain businesses and farming. NAFTA and CAFTA countries made up the largest segment for exports with shipments valued at $15.2 billion.