The Economic Case

Where the value goes.

America grows the world's finest Pima, then ships the value-add overseas. Here is the full per-pound picture: the gap, the detour, the lost spinning capacity, and what Yuma recaptures.

← Back to home
The Value Gap — price per pound from raw Pima fibre to a finished Supima tee The Detour — how far American Pima travels to be spun Where America Can't Spin — U.S. yarn-spinning capacity by fineness
The Fibre Desk series — value, distance, capacity. Each strand reaches as far as its worth. Click any plate for the print version.
Today — the leak
Arizona Pima cotton, picked & baled
Exported unspun to Asia~90% leaves
Spun into yarn overseas
Reimported as finished yarn2,900+ mi
$1.76
in foreign value-add leaves the U.S. economy on every pound of 30/1 Pima ring-spun yarn.
The Yuma Model — the capture
Spin it where it grows. A domestic ring-spinning hub in Yuma keeps the value-add on American soil — farm to spindle to mill, in days, not oceans.
2,900+MILES ELIMINATED
3×FASTER REPLENISHMENT
$120M+VALUE RETAINED
400+JOBS PER MILL
Sources: USDA AMS Cotton Market Review · USDA Cotton Outlook · Textile Exchange conversion methodology · FRED PPI yarn index. Figures are modeled estimates for a 30/1 Pima ring-spun lane.
The Benchmark

Where the dollar goes.

A per-pound view of the 30/1 Pima ring-spun yarn lane — the value that currently exits the country versus the delivered domestic target.

Per lb · 30/1 Pima Ring-SpunToday (offshore)Yuma Model
US Pima raw cottonAmericanAmerican
Spinning value-addleaves US (~$1.76)retained at home
Round-trip freight & lead time2,900+ mi · weekslocal · days
Delivered yarn (modeled)imported~$4.42–4.50 /lb
Today — value-add leaves the U.S.~$1.76 /lb exported
US fiber
VALUE-ADD LEAVES THE COUNTRY
Yuma Model — value-add stays homeretained on American soil
100% OF THE VALUE RETAINED IN AMERICA