According to www.just-style.com, the US textile industry remained stable in 2025 despite significant economic and trade disruptions, with annual output valued at $60.9bn — down from $63.9bn in 2024.
Industry Resilience Amid Plant Closures and Trade Pressures
Chuck Hall, chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and president and CEO of textile manufacturer Barnet, delivered this assessment at NCTO’s 22nd Annual Meeting held April 14–16, 2026, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. Hall opened his remarks with a sobering statistic: “In just two and a half years, more than 40 US textile plants have closed. Let that sink in. Forty facilities — many in rural communities where a textile mill is the economic backbone — shut their doors. Families were impacted. Communities were shaken.”
He attributed these closures to intensifying predatory trade practices, surging illegal transshipments, customs fraud, and cascading logistics breakdowns. Sweeping global tariff increases, Hall said, “triggered uncertainty and injected unpredictability into global markets.”
2025 Performance Metrics
Despite headwinds, key indicators held relatively steady:
- Value of US man-made fibre, textile, and apparel shipments: $60.9bn in 2025 (down from $63.9bn in 2024)
- Exports of fibres, textiles, and apparel: $27bn in 2025 (down from $28bn in 2024)
- Industry investment in advanced manufacturing (2017–2024): $34.3bn
- New plants and equipment investment in 2024: $5.5bn — the highest figure available for a single year
Hall noted that while fundamentals weakened slightly, the sector’s adaptability underscored its viability: “This again underscores the industry’s ability to adapt during challenging times and remain viable even while registering some losses.”
Policy Wins and 2026 Priorities
2025 also marked notable policy achievements following sustained advocacy — including senior-level meetings with Cabinet secretaries and policymakers on Capitol Hill, as well as grassroots efforts. Key wins included:
- Closing the de minimis loophole
- Securing Western Hemisphere tariff exemptions
- Elevating customs enforcement
- Protecting key defence procurement rules
For 2026, NCTO’s advocacy objectives include maintaining duty-free status for textile and apparel goods under USMCA and CAFTA-DR, seeking tariff exemptions for domestic textile manufacturing inputs and machinery not produced in the US, and strengthening protections for the Berry Amendment through the National Defense Authorization Act and the House Berry Amendment Caucus.
“We enter 2026 with many challenges ahead. The work never ends, and the challenges are ever evolving. In 2026, global competition remains fierce. Policy uncertainty remains real. Enforcement gaps remain persistent.” — Chuck Hall, chairman, National Council of Textile Organizations
From a supply chain professional’s perspective, the data signals continued reliance on integrated domestic manufacturing capacity amid tightening regulatory scrutiny and shifting trade corridors. The $34.3bn invested in advanced manufacturing since 2017 reflects a long-term bet on automation, traceability, and nearshoring — trends increasingly critical for compliance with defence sourcing rules and regional trade agreements. Persistent enforcement gaps, however, mean supply chain teams must maintain rigorous documentation, origin verification, and customs due diligence — especially for inputs crossing Western Hemisphere borders or entering US defence contracts.
Source: Just Style
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
