Trends in the ginning industry, including consolidation, universal density bales, seed cotton moduling, cottonseed storage, bale warehousing, qin ownership, and environmental, safety and regulatory issues are discussed. Ginning can have an impact on the profitability and competitiveness of both cotton production and textile manufacturing. Unfortunately, the traditional grading and marketing system did not reward producers for the quality factors that textile manufacturers need. The adoption of instrument cotton classification will give United States cotton producers a competitive edge.