2012 Cotton Ginning Trends

The United States cotton ginning industry has seen many new trends over the past years. These trends include the consolidation of gin plants, new harvesting and module transportation technology, new cotton varieties, gin process measurement and control, new market demands and increasing environmental regulations. Gin numbers have steadily declined while annual volume and operational costs continue to increase. Gins will become increasingly sophisticated with the use of new technology to reduce labor and operating costs, while optimizing market value. Gin owners, managers, investors, and researchers will need to make informed decisions on the adoption of future technology.  The purpose of this paper is to provide some general U.S. cotton production and ginning statistics, along with identifying ginning industry trends with the goal of helping gin owners, managers, investors and researchers make informed decisions for future plans in the cotton industry.