SIC 5131 Piece Goods, Notions, and Other Dry Goods

SIC 5131

This industry comprises wholesale distributors of piece goods, yarn goods (made from natural or manmade fibers), notions (including sewing accessories and hair accessories), and other dry goods. Products of the industry include belt and buckle assembly kits, buttons, shoulder pads, textiles, thread, apparel trimmings, and zippers. The industry also includes converters who buy fabric goods (except knit goods) in the grey market, contract to have them finished, and sell the finished product at wholesale. Converters of knit goods, however, are included in Industry Group 225. Establishments engaged primarily in the wholesale distribution of items considered home furnishings are classified under SIC 5023: Homefurnishings.

NAICS CODE(S)

313311

Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills

313312

Textile and Fabric Finishing (except Broadwoven Fabric) Mills

422310

Piece Goods, Notions, and Other Dry Goods Wholesalers

In 2006, there were 5,905 establishments in the piece goods and notions industry employing some 52,693 people. The states with the largest number of establishments in the industry were New York with 22 percent and California with about 21 percent. The average number of employees per establishment was nine, and average sales per establishment was $3.8 million. Sales for the industry totaled approximately $20 billion. States with the most textile mills were still New York with 1,298 and California with 1,214.

Sellers of fabric goods and craft items to retailers experienced an upswing during the early to mid-1990s. As Americans began spending more time at home, sales for sewing and craft shops increased. Fabric wholesalers supplying the apparel industry, however, saw their customers dwindle in size and numbers. Industry employment decreased in the apparel industry during the first half of the 1990s. Thread sellers were unaffected because apparel cut in the United States and shipped abroad for assembly was ordinarily sewn with American-produced threads. Additionally, non-apparel uses for industry goods were steadily increasing into the 2000s.

For 2003, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI) reported that approximately 50 textile mills went out of business in the United States. As a result, the textile industry's employment rate declined by 10 percent, or 428,000 workers. As the mills were shut down, the average work week also fell one hour and 36 minutes over 2002. In addition to the...