Discussion
The blue line in the chart above shows actual weekly export shipments for the 2024/25 marketing year (converted from running bales into 480 lb. statistical bales, using USDA’s conversion factor of 1.03). The week ending December 12 saw export shipments below the weekly average pace needed to reach USDA’s 11.3 million bale target.

Another indicator of export demand is the percent of U.S. export total commitments to USDA’s forecast export target of 11.3 million bales. Total commitments of all cotton as of December 12, 2024 included 2,553,583 bales worth of accumulated exports of all cotton, i.e., pima and upland sold and actually shipped since August 1. It also includes another 4,889,415 running bales of pima and upland sold but not yet shipped (“outstanding sales”). The total of accumulated exports and outstanding sales is 7,442,998 running bales of total commitments which, after converting to statistical bales, is 68% of USDA’s 11.3 million bale target for 2024/25 U.S. exports. This is in the lower third of the historical seasonal patterns of export sales as a percent of total forecasted exports (see below).