Textile Furnishings Mills
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,400 textile furnishings mills in the US manufacture non-apparel textile-based products, including floor coverings, window treatments, and household linens. Household linens include bedspreads, blankets, comforters, cushions, napkins, pillowcases, pillows, placemats, quilts, sheets, slipcovers, shower curtains, tablecloths, and towels. Customers include distributors and retailers. Carpet and rug mills also sell to builders, interior decorators, and designers.
The Fashion Element In Household Textiles
Fashion trends and fads have become a critical factor in driving demand for curtains, drapes and household linens.
Competition From Imports
Imports dominate the curtain, drape, and household linen categories, and account for about 81% of the US market.
Industry size & Structure
A typical carpet and rug mill employs 150 workers and generates about $45 million annually, while a typical curtain and linen mill employs about 18 workers and generates about $3 million annually.
- The textile furnishings mill industry includes about 1,400 companies which employ 50,000 workers and generate about $13 billion annually.
- While the curtain and drape mill industry is fragmented, the carpet and rug and household linen mill industries are concentrated.
- Large companies include Shaw (Berkshire Hathaway), Mohawk, WestPoint Home (Icahn Enterprises), and Springs Global US (Springs Global Participacoes).
Industry Forecast
Textile Furnishings Mills Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 25, 2024 - Employment Falls, Wages Up
- Employment by textile furnishings mills fell in late 2023, while wages rose, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Employment declined 6.4% in December 2023 compared to a year ago and has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, average hourly wages were up 5.5% in December 2023 compared to a year ago and have risen 27% from pre-pandemic wages. Textile product shipments fell nearly 6% in September 2023 compared to a year ago and declined 5.5% from the previous month, according to the Census Bureau. Producer prices for textile furnishings mills were mostly flat in December 2023 compared to December 2022, per the BLS.
- US textile and garment manufacturers say their industry is being negatively impacted by a trade rule known as de minimis, which they say gives an advantage to foreign producers, according to a recent New York Times article. The provision allows foreign companies to ship goods directly to US customers without paying tariffs if the goods are worth less than $800. The nearly-century-old rule has seen a significant increase in use in recent years. The number of packages entering the US without tariffs under the policy rose from 150 million in the 2016 fiscal year to 1 billion by 2023. Half of the packages contain textile and apparel products, with about 30% coming from Chinese fast-fashion retailers Shein and Temu, per the article. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) supports eliminating the de minimis rule. The textile and apparel manufacturing industry has struggled amid the highly competitive marketplace. Between August and December 2023, eight textile plants in the Southern US closed, per NCTO data cited in the article.
- Floor coverings sales ended 2023 on a positive note following a challenging first three quarters of the year, buoyed by a rebound in new home construction thanks to lower interest rates, according to Catalina Research data in Floor Covering Weekly. The value of US floor coverings manufacturer sales grew by an estimated 0.7% in Q4 2023, and square foot sales were an estimated 1.9% higher. This is an improvement over the first three quarters of 2023, which experienced a 7.1% decrease in dollar sales and an 8.9% decrease in square foot sales. The first quarter of 2024 may continue the recovery; Catalina estimated that floor coverings sales could improve due to higher builder purchases and continued gains in non-residential building construction.
- Textile furnishings mills will have to monitor minimum wage changes, as 22 states increased their minimum wages in January 2024, according to USA Today. About half of the increases are automatic adjustments linked to inflation. States that raised their minimum wages in January 2024 include Hawaii ($14), Maryland ($15), Nebraska ($12), and Washington ($16.28). Several states are set to boost their minimum wage levels later this year, including Florida (up to $13 in September) and Nevada (up to $12 in July). According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 40 US cities and counties will increase their minimum wage rates above state levels at the start of the new year. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and more than 20 states, primarily located in the South and the Midwest, use the federal minimum as their wage floor.
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