Articles

Catalina Research has released its latest Kitchen and Bath Quarterly Update. According to the report, U.S. kitchen and bath product sales (shipments minus exports plus imports) continued to experience strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2021, despite a slowdown in housing demand. Kitchen and bath product sales could have increased by 13.5 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 18.8 percent over the first nine months of 2021. Read More

Homeowners are making room in their renovation budgets to prioritize kitchen countertops, according to the 2022 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. The survey of nearly 2,400 U.S. homeowners using Houzz who are in the midst of, are planning, or recently completed a kitchen renovation, found that more than one-third of homeowners reportedly splurged on countertops (35 percent). The most common feature improved during kitchen renovations, countertops were upgraded by more than nine in 10 homeowners (91 percent).  Read More

Catalina Research has released its latest Floor Coverings Industry Quarterly Update that includes ceramic porcelain tile, natural stone, glass tile, LVT, Laminates, Carpet, and Wood Flooring. According to the report, U.S. floor coverings sales remained strong in dollars in the fourth quarter of 2021 as price increases strengthened. Read More

For the first 11 months of 2021, total ceramic tile imports rose 23.1% in dollars and 15.3% in quantity, reports Grosser Consulting.  Read More

“This has been a solid year for the tile category,” shared Crossville president Greg Mather. “I would expect the category to be up low double digits. A big part of this is fueled by Q2 comparisons versus the heart of lockdowns in 2020, but even into Q3 and Q4, we are seeing pretty solid levels of demand.” Read More

The 2021 preliminary results compiled by Prometeia based on sector data show Italian ceramic tile industry total sales volumes of around 458 million sqm (+12% on 2019), exports of around 367 million sqm (+13% on 2019 and +15% on 2020) and domestic sales of more than 91 million sqm (+9%), the latter returning to growth after a 20-year decline. The growth in exports involves virtually all the main international markets, with the strongest performances in the United States, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Read More

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) released its annual Design Trends report. The 2022 study, a deep dive into all aspects of both kitchen and primary bathroom design, forecasts the styles, features, materials and innovations expected to be most popular over the next two to three years. Read More

Lowe’s reported total sales for Q3 2021 were $22.9 billion, a 2.7% increase compared to $22.3 billion in Q3 2020. Read More

U.S. import prices rose 1.2% in October following a 0.4% advance in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  Read More

Ceramic tile imports rose 22.2% in square meters in the first nine months of 2021 and 29.8% in dollars, reports Grosser Consulting.  Read More