Summary of Report
U.S. Cotton Distribution Patterns, 1993/94
SB-940, September 1997
U.S. cotton marketing patterns have been changing. The recent changes include cost-cutting transportation arrangements and innovative merchandising techniques. These trends are described in this report.
Cotton shipments increased sharply across the Cotton Belt in 1993/94 because of greatly expanded domestic demand and strong export sales.
Significant cotton transport cost savings have resulted from intermodal transportation arrangements, such as gin yard container loading, rail-truck piggyback shipments, and special through-rate programs offered by some ocean carriers. Trucks handled about 85 percent of all shipments and rail carriers the rest. In intermodal transportation, truck trailers or containers are loaded on flatbed rail cars.
At the same time, larger and fewer shipments, both within U.S. regions and across them, have concentrated the movement of cotton. About 37 percent of the total volume of cotton transported in 1993/94 was exported, going primarily to ports on the Pacific coast, and to Canada and Mexico. That 37 percent was substantially lower than the 48 percent during the 1986/87 season.
This report is the latest in a series on transportation of U.S. cotton. Previous reports covering 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1986 are out of print, but this report includes some data on those years. The data for 1993/94 were collected in a survey of cotton storage and handling facilities in the 14 major cotton-producing States.
U.S. cotton production has increased from an annual average of 12.5 million bales in the 1980's to more than 16.1 million bales in the 1993/94 season. In the Southeast, production more than doubled in that time period. In addition, the 1990 Farm Act, with its cotton competitiveness provisions, enabled both domestic and export markets for U.S. cotton to expand to near-record levels.
During the 1980's, about half of all shipments went to domestic mills and the rest to ports for export. But by 1993/94, the domestic market was taking nearly two-thirds of total shipments, altering regional demand for transportation services and overall distribution patterns. Railroad deregulation and the closing of many spur lines have changed the means by which U.S. cotton reaches its ultimate destination.
During the 1993/94 season, some States and regions reported shipments exceeding production because of cotton that went into the market from stocks. Total marketings for the year exceeded 17 million bales, with ending stocks declining by more than 1 million bales from year-earlier levels.
The Pacific coast is the leading cotton export area, but shipments from the Central and West gulf ports have grown in relative volume. Canada and especially Mexico have emerged as major destinations for U.S. cotton, reflecting opportunities under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). In 1993/94, more than 13 percent of U.S. cotton export movements were to Canada and Mexico.
About 62 percent of all reported U.S. cotton shipments in 1993/94 moved to textile mills in Southeastern States and to interior concentration points, compared with 52 percent in 1986/87 and 45 percent in 1980/81. Concentration points are where cotton shipments are consolidated for further shipment.
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Updated: September 22, 1997
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