How to Read the USDA Cotton System Consumption and Stocks Report — Manmade Fiber, Extra Long Staple Cotton and Spindles
USDA Cotton System Consumption and Stocks, U.S. cotton-system mills, August 2026: manmade fiber consumed 16.2 million pounds (-18% from a year earlier); extra long staple cotton 76,000 pounds.
Key figures (Cotton System Consumption and Stocks, October 1, 2026 report)
As of 31 October 2026, 00:13 KST; most recently published report: Cotton System Consumption and Stocks, released October 1, 2026, by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), covering U.S. mills on the cotton spinning system in August 2026. The NASS October 2026 calendar lists the release at 3:00 pm ET; the publication page lists the next scheduled releases on November 2 and December 1, 2026, at 3:00 PM without a time zone. Primary source: https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/796090/cact1026.txt[1][3][4]
| Indicator (U.S. cotton system, August 2026) | Previous (July 2026, as printed in the October 1 report) | Current (August 2026) | Change vs previous | Change vs year ago (August 2025) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manmade fiber staple consumed, total (1,000 pounds; this page's sum of three lines) | 14,798 (first published as 14.9 million) | 16,228 | up 10% (published); +9.7% (calculated) | down 18% (published) from 19,748; -17.8% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Polyester staple consumed (1,000 pounds) | 13,677 | 15,089 | +10.3% (calculated) | -16.6% (calculated) from 18,093 | levels: USDA NASS primary statistical record; percentage changes: this page's calculations |
| Extra long staple cotton consumed (1,000 pounds) | 197 (first published as 203) | 76 | down 61% (published); -61.4% (calculated) | down 23% (published) from 99; -23.2% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Extra long staple stocks, last Saturday of month (1,000 pounds) | 102 (first published as 81) | 106 | up 4% (published); +3.9% (calculated) | down 62% (published) from 282; -62.4% (calculated) | levels and published % changes: USDA NASS primary statistical record; calculated %: this page |
| Spindles in place, all types (1,000; this page's sum) | 545 | 545 | unchanged | -6.2% (calculated) from 581 | levels: USDA NASS primary statistical record; percentage changes: this page's calculations |
| Active spindles consuming mixtures or blends (1,000) | 187 | 182 | -2.7% (calculated) | -16.5% (calculated) from 218 | levels: USDA NASS primary statistical record; percentage changes: this page's calculations |
Comparison basis: levels are as published; July 2026 values are those printed in the October 1 report, with first published figures from the September 1 report noted where they differ. The report states total manmade fiber and total spindles only as rounded highlights, so those rows are this page's sums of the table lines (they match the highlights). Published changes are whole percentages; this page's calculated changes are rounded to one decimal. The two releases, publication page and calendar are all from USDA and count as one source.[1][2]
In three lines
1. The monthly NASS report covers extra long staple cotton and manmade fiber staple consumed and stocked by U.S. cotton-system mills, plus spindles in place and active.
2. In August 2026, those mills consumed 16.2 million pounds of manmade fiber, down 18% from a year earlier, 93% of it polyester staple.
3. Extra long staple cotton consumption was 76,000 pounds, and spindles in place totaled 545,000.[1]
What the report says (in NASS's words)
"Total Manmade fiber consumed on the cotton system was 16.2 million pounds during August 2026, up 10 percent from July 2026 but down 18 percent from August 2025." "Of the total manmade fiber consumed, 93 percent was polyester staple." "Extra long staple cotton consumed on the cotton system was 76,000 pounds in August 2026, down 61 percent from July 2026 and down 23 percent from August 2025." "August 2026 stocks on hand on the last Saturday of the month totaled 106,000 pounds, up 4 percent from July 2026 but down 62 percent from August 2025." "Total number of spindles on the cotton system was 545,000 during August 2026."[1]
What it covers. "The report provides monthly and annual totals for extra long staple cotton and manmade fibers consumption, as well as ending stocks and monthly spindle activity on the U.S. cotton system."[3]
Who reports. "Cotton System Consumption and Stocks is part of the Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR) program." "Response to CAIR surveys are required by law (Title 7, U.S. Code)." "Data are collected from all known mills that consume cotton." "Approximately 50 reports are received each month which represent about 95 percent of total spindles." "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."[1]
Reading in pairs
First print vs revised. "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." July 2026 extra long staple consumption was first published as 203 thousand pounds (the September 1 report said: "Extra long staple cotton consumed on the cotton system was 203,000 pounds in July 2026, up 139 percent from June 2026 and up 56 percent from July 2025.") and is printed as 197 thousand in the October 1 report; July extra long staple stocks moved from 81 to 102 thousand pounds, and July manmade fiber consumption from 14,875 to 14,798 thousand pounds (this page's sums). The published August changes are measured from the revised July figures.[1][2]
Small lines vs large percentages. Extra long staple cotton consumption is measured in thousands of pounds (76 in August 2026), so a 61% monthly decline is a change of 121 thousand pounds; manmade fiber consumption is about 200 times larger.[1]
What is not in the table. The October 1 report gives extra long staple cotton consumption but no total or upland cotton consumption. Separately, the number of active spindles consuming 100% cotton and their hours operated are withheld as (D) for July and August 2026. The September 1 report also carried a private-storage table for upland and American Pima cotton (133,682 running bales in July 2026) that the October 1 report does not include.[1][2]
Coverage vs month-to-month change. "Monthly data can vary due to different firms reporting month to month." The report does not attribute these particular month-to-month or year-to-year changes to specific causes.[1]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
U.S. cotton-system mills consumed 16.2 million pounds of manmade fiber in August 2026, up 10 percent from July 2026 and down 18 percent from August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Polyester staple made up 93 percent of manmade fiber consumed on the U.S. cotton system in August 2026.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Extra long staple cotton consumed on the U.S. cotton system was 76,000 pounds in August 2026, down 23 percent from August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The U.S. cotton system had 545,000 spindles in August 2026.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The USDA publication page lists the next scheduled Cotton System Consumption and Stocks releases on November 2 and December 1, 2026.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
July 2026 extra long staple cotton stocks were revised from 81 thousand pounds to 102 thousand pounds.[1][2] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's comparison of the September 1 and October 1 releases
U.S. cotton-system spindles in place were 545,000 in August 2026, down 6.2% from 581,000 in August 2025, with the change in open-end spindles.[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's sum of the spindles table in the October 1 release
Timeline
- 2026-09-01
NASS releases Cotton System Consumption and Stocks for July 2026.[2]
- 2026-10-01
NASS releases Cotton System Consumption and Stocks for August 2026.[1][4]
- 2026-11-02
Next scheduled release listed on the USDA publication page.[3]
- 2026-12-01
Following scheduled release listed on the USDA publication page.[3]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- How much upland cotton did U.S. mills consume in August 2026?
- Why did manmade fiber consumption fall 18% from a year earlier?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/31/2026, 00:16
- Body characters
- 6,294
- Sources
- 4 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/31/2026, 00:20
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/31/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/31/2026 | First version. Read in full the USDA NASS Cotton System Consumption and Stocks text releases of October 1 and September 1, 2026, including the consumption, stocks, spindle and private-storage tables and methodology, plus the publication page and the NASS October 2026 release calendar; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text. | Updated |
| 10/31/2026 | Revised after review: the private-storage figure now cites both releases; the answers on total and upland cotton consumption say the report gives extra long staple cotton consumption but no total or upland cotton consumption, and the withheld 100% cotton active-spindle and hours lines are described in a separate sentence. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How much manmade fiber did U.S. cotton-system mills consume in August 2026?
16.2 million pounds, up 10% from July 2026 and down 18% from August 2025; 93% was polyester staple (15,089 thousand pounds).[1]
Does the October 1, 2026 Cotton System report give total U.S. cotton consumption for August 2026?
No: the October 1, 2026 report gives extra long staple cotton consumption (76 thousand pounds) but no total or upland cotton consumption.[1]
How much extra long staple cotton was in U.S. cotton-system mill stocks at the end of August 2026?
106,000 pounds on the last Saturday of the month (214 running bales), up 4% from July 2026 and down 62% from August 2025.[1]
How many spindles were on the U.S. cotton system in August 2026?
545,000 in place: 379 thousand ring, 20 thousand airjet and 146 thousand open-end spindles.[1]
Who reports to the August 2026 U.S. Cotton System survey?
NASS surveys all known mills that consume cotton, but not all respond each month; about 50 reports a month represent about 95% of total spindles, and non-response is imputed.[1]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Cotton System Consumption and Stocks, released October 1, 2026 (USDA NASS, text release) primary
- [2] Cotton System Consumption and Stocks, released September 1, 2026 (USDA NASS, text release) primary
- [3] Cotton System Consumption and Stocks publication page (USDA ESMIS, page as current on 2026-10-31) primary
- [4] NASS Reports by Date calendar, October 2026 primary