Declining in step with continued consolidation in the broader textile complex described here, 2008 Japanese yarn production is down from prior-year levels. Over the first four months of the year, output of cotton yarns fell -14.6% from the same period in 2007, steeper than the year-to-date declines in woolen yarns (-8.6%) or synthetic fiber yarns (-6.3%). April’s drop marks the 48th consecutive month that cotton yarn production fell from year-earlier levels and marks the lowest April reading on record.