U.S. floor coverings industry sales continued to decline in 2025 for the third consecutive year. Catalina estimates U.S. floor coverings manufacturer sales (domestic shipments minus exports plus imports) could have declined 0.1 percent in dollars and 1.3 percent in square feet in 2025.

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U.S. floor coverings industry sales continued to decline in 2025 for the third consecutive year. Catalina estimates U.S. floor coverings manufacturer sales (domestic shipments minus exports plus imports) could have declined 0.1 percent in dollars and 1.3 percent in square feet in 2025. Sales could have declined to $30.9 billion and 25.3 billion square feet. Sales are down from a record $35.4 billion and 25.9 billion square feet in 2022. The 2025 dollar sales decline would have been 2.3 percent if not for $680 million in additional tariff charges collected on flooring imports. Higher tariff rates did result in average manufacturer flooring selling prices increasing at the sharpest rate since 2022.

Consumer purchases remained the weakest market. Consumer purchases were hurt by the economic uncertainties created by the higher tariffs and mortgage rate remaining above 6.5 percent for most of 2025. Commercial market sales slowed along with nonresidential building construction spending; however, commercial sales were led by rising sales to the Main Street commercial and institutional markets. Builder purchases was a bright spot in 2025.

Catalina estimates builder floor covering spending could have increased by 1.8 percent in 2025 (Catalina Report on Floor Coverings Industry Trends and End-Use Markets). The gain was driven by an 18.9 percent increase in new homes sold for $1 million or more. This gain compares to a 2.3 percent decline for homes selling for less than $1 million. This trend indicates consumer purchases remained strong for higher income households, while weak for moderate- and lower-income households.

Rising demand from higher income households can be seen in the relatively high-priced wood flooring sector. In 2025, wood flooring sales could have increased 3 .7 percent in dollars and 3.3 percent in square feet. Meanwhile, LVT continues to account for an increasing share of the lower end of the market. In the soft surface market, sales increased for carpet tile and area rugs. There was also a surge in the specialty niche of other resilient flooring since sharp tariff increases led to double-digit increases in this sector’s average selling prices.

Conversely, demand is weakest for broadloom. Vinyl sheet, VCT, stone flooring and laminate flooring also lagged overall industry sales trends in 2025. Vinyl sheet, other non-LVT vinyl tile and laminate flooring was hurt by continued inroads made by LVT. At the same time, relatively high-priced stone prices caused a shift to more competitively priced ceramic and porcelain tiles.

Meanwhile, imported products were able to increase share of the total U.S. floor coverings supply (domestic factory shipments plus imports) in 2025 despite sharply higher tariff rates. Imported products increased share on a square foot basis since they still have a significant price advantage over domestically made flooring. Meanwhile, higher tariff rates allowed imports to make inroads on a dollar basis at an even sharper rate as tariffs pushed up average import prices.

Domestic manufacturers sales, however, were impacted by declining exports since 2023. This reflects weakening global economic growth.

Carpet & Area Rugs

Soft surface flooring lost share in 2025 after this sector’s relative importance stabilized the previous two years. In 2025, carpet and area rug manufacturer sales could have been $11.5 billion, down 1.9 percent from 2024. Square foot sales could have dropped 2.2 percent to 10.6 billion. At the same time, hard surface flooring sales increased 1.1 percent in dollars and declined 0.6 percent in square feet. As a result, soft surface share of total floor coverings manufacturer sales decreased to 37.3 percent in dollars and 42.1 percent in square feet. This is down from 38.0 percent and 42.5 percent, respectively, in 2024. Soft surface flooring lost share despite its price advantage. The average value per square foot of soft surface sold, in manufacturer dollars, was $1.08 in 2025 versus $1.33 per square foot for hard surface flooring.

Soft surface flooring has lost significant share over the past three decades as consumers increased their preference for hard surface flooring as broadloom usage declined. In 2025, broadloom sales could have declined to an 18.8 percent share of total floor coverings square foot manufacturer sales. This is down from a 20.1 percent share in 2024 (Catalina Report on Floor Coverings Industry Trends and End-Use Markets). Broadloom’s square foot share is down from 45.7 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, area rug and carpet tile took up some of the slack. In 2025, area rug manufacturer sales could have accounted for 12.9 percent of total square foot floor coverings sales. This is up from 12.4 percent in 2024. Carpet tile’s share could have increased to 6.7 percent up from 6.3 percent.

Ceramic & Porcelain Tile and Stone

Ceramic and porcelain tile sales declined in dollars and square feet in 2025; however, the drop moderated compared to 2024. Dollar ceramic and porcelain tile manufacturer sales decreased 0.6 percent in 2025 to $4 billion. This accounted for 13.1 percent of total U.S. floor coverings sales.

Square foot sales could have declined 1.8 percent to 2.9 billion or 11.6 percent of total square foot sales. Dollar and square foot shares are down from 13.2 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, in 2024. Manufacturer sales received a boost as average import prices increased sharply along with tariff charges. Tariff charges are more significant in the ceramic tile market since this sector has one of the highest levels of import penetration levels. Foreign-sourced tile continues to hold onto more than 60 percent of the share of total U.S. ceramic and porcelain square foot sales. Imports has maintained a dominant share since they had an 11 percent price advantage, on average, over domestically made tiles in 2025.

Stone continues to lose share to ceramic and porcelain tile since stone tile sell at significantly higher prices. In 2025, the average stone manufacturer price could have been almost four times the average price for ceramic and porcelain tile prices. Ceramic and porcelain tile also made inroads since digital printing allowed manufacturers to offer stone looks at a lower cost. As a result, dollar stone flooring sales could have declined by 2.9 percent versus a 0.6 percent decrease for ceramic and porcelain tile. Square foot stone tile sales could have declined by 3.3 percent compared to 1.8 percent for ceramic and porcelain tile. Stone flooring demand was also hurt by its heavier dependence on the weak residential replacement market, 40.8 percent for stone tile versus 34.3 percent for ceramic and porcelain tile.

Wood Flooring

Wood flooring experienced a relatively sharp sales increase in dollars and square feet in 2025. Wood flooring manufacturer dollar sales could have increased by 3.7 percent to $3.6 billion. Square foot sales could have risen by 3.3 percent to 1.2 billion. In 2025, wood flooring’s share of total floor covering dollar sales could have been 11.7 percent and 4.9 percent of total square foot sales. This is up from 11.3 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, in 2024.

Wood flooring has a much higher share in dollars since wood flooring is targeted to the higher end of the floor coverings market. This indicates wood flooring is more likely to be purchased by higher income households. Higher income households have a significant share of the 80.3 percent of total wood flooring purchases for residential installations. It seems that higher income buyers have increased their preference for wood flooring since 2023, while reducing purchases of ceramic and porcelain tile, LVT, and laminate flooring, sectors with average selling prices less than half of those for wood flooring.

Manufacturers and marketers also benefited from the turnaround in builder purchases since 2024. The wood flooring sector has the highest reliance on builder purchases at 36.4 percent. The sales gain was led by foreign-sourced flooring. In 2025, import shipments increased by 15.9 percent in dollars and 22.0 percent in square feet. The import gains were led by engineered products which increased by 16.4 percent in dollars.

Meanwhile, domestic manufacturer shipments declined by 2.9 percent.in dollars and 110 percent in square feet (Catalina Report on Floor Coverings Industry Trends and End-Use Markets). Domestic manufacturers lost share in recent years since the price gap between domestically made and imported wood flooring increased some 39 percent as average domestically made wood flooring prices increased while average import prices declined. Average import prices declined despite rising tariff rates. This could indicate domestic manufacturers moved their lines upmarket.

Resilient Flooring

Resilient flooring has resumed taking share from other floor coverings sectors. In 2025, resilient flooring manufacturer dollar sales could have increased 2.0 percent to $9 billion. This represented 29 percent of total dollar floor coverings sales. Square foot sales decreased 0.6 percent to 9.4 billion or 37.1 percent of total industry square foot sales. Resilient flooring dollar sales rebounded in 2024 and 2025 after a significant inventory adjustment in 2023. As a result, share is up from 28.1 percent in dollars and 36.5 percent in square foot in 2023. Dollar sales also received a boost from sharp tariff change increases since the resilient flooring sector has the industry’s highest penetration level.

LVT dominates the resilient flooring sector, accounting for 84.1 percent of total resilient flooring dollar sales and 79.0 percent of total square foot sales. In 2025, LVT manufacturer dollar sales could have increased 2.7 percent to $7.6 billion and by 0.6 percent in square feet to 7.4 billion. Average manufacturer selling prices could have increased 2.0 percent. The LVT gain was led by increased demand for rigid core products. In 2025, Catalina estimates rigid core products accounted for 77.9 percent of total LVT dollar sales and 79.6 percent of total square foot sales. Flexible LVT sales accounted for the remainder of total LVT sales. In 2025, rigid core flooring sales were driven by a 7.5 percent increase in dollar imports and a 10.3 percent increase in square foot imports (Catalina Report on Floor Coverings Industry Trends and End-Use Markets). Shipments from Vietnam is now the leading source of foreign-made rigid core products displacing sourcing from China.

LVT continues to take share from vinyl sheet, VCT and other vinyl products. Meanwhile, other resilient flooring sales increased sharply in 2025 due to a surge in import shipments.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring has been losing share for over a decade. Laminate flooring primarily lost share to LVT. In recent years, laminate flooring also lost share due to this sector’s heavy dependence on the weak residential replacement market and sluggish pricing. In 2025, laminate flooring manufacturer sales could have declined 1.5 percent in dollars and 0.7 percent in square feet. Sales could have been $878 million and 734 million square feet. Average manufacturer selling prices could have increased 0.8 percent. In 2025, laminate flooring could have accounted for 2.8 percent of total floor coverings dollar sales and 2.9 percent of total square foot sales.

Domestically produced laminate flooring lost share to foreign-sourced products in 2025. Laminate flooring dollar imports increased 6.8 percent while square foot imports rose 9.2 percent. Average import prices were $1.15 per square foot, down 1.7 percent from the previous year. Imports could have accounted for 48.3 percent of total domestic square foot sales in 2025, up from a 43.9 percent share in 2024. Important foreign suppliers are in China, Germany, Canada and Vietnam.

Outlook 2026

The U.S. floor coverings industry could see a fourth consecutive down year during 2026. This is the worst industry sales performance since the housing bust from 2007 to 2011. Elevated mortgage rates are the primary reason for the decline. High mortgage rates will keep the housing market in the doldrums keeping consumer floor covering spending sluggish. The commercial market could also slow further due to declining nonresidential building construction spending. In addition, households and businesses are cautious to spend on flooring due to uncertainty created by the Iranian War. The war has increased gasoline prices which resulted in renewed inflationary pressures. Higher inflation will make the Federal Reserve reluctant to cut interest rates. Higher tariff rates also put upward pressure on flooring prices giving households and businesses another reason to hold  back on flooring purchases.

War, macroeconomic trends and higher tariff rates could cause U.S. floor coverings manufacturer sales to decline by 0.5 percent in dollars and 3.6 percent in square feet in 2026. During 2026, dollar sales could drop to $30.8 billion and square foot sales to 24.9 billion. Average manufacturer selling prices could increase 3.3 percent due to tariff rate increases.

The 2026 sales decline is expected to be led by weakening commercial sales since non-residential building construction spending declined by 3.0 percent over the first four months of the year. Residential replacement sales could see another slight decrease due to economic uncertainties. On the other hand, the builder market is estimated to experience a gain since housing starts turned upwards over the first four months.

Pent up housing demand, however, continues to grow since new home construction has not met growing housing needs. As a result, the industry outlook could brighten if mortgage rates trend toward 6.0 percent and consumer sentiment turns upward with the end of the Iranian War.

Editor’s Note

The statistical data is updated each year and often revised. This year’s seemingly slight dip in sales — just 0.1 percent — reflects revised 2024 numbers. Last year, total 2024 U.S. Floor Covering Sales were estimated at $33.20 billion in manufacturers’ dollars (down 2.6 percent from the prior year). That number has been revised to $30.97 billion. The 10-year high mark was 2022 when sales were at $35.43 billion. That now represents a drop in sales of more than 12 percent over the three-year period.

Revisions are made when actual domestic shipments are released by the Department of Commerce and are often slightly different than what was expected by a percent or two. As well, when tariffs hit, there was a surge in imports as sellers moved quickly to stock up on goods that were to be slapped with steep tariffs. That dynamic skewed the stats further and we expect more revisions as things finally stabilize.

All sales values are in manufacturers’ dollars