Articles

Mohawk Industries announced Q2 2023 net sales of $2.95 billion, a 6.4% decrease from Q2 2022’s $3.15 billion. Read More

2023 started as simply an extension of 2022. The industry could do no wrong. And then the industry had no answers for fixing how wrong the industry was. For the first time in years, the sales at manufacturing were not the perfect barometer as to how retailers did. Thousands of shipping containers stuck offshore in 2022 were finally delivered just as demand slowed down. Distributors who had been chasing stellar sales with built up inventory suddenly found themselves with way too much inventory for the second half of the year. Read More

U.S. floor coverings manufacturer sales (shipments minus exports plus imports) declined sharply in the first half of 2023 as final demand dropped and distributors and retailers worked off excess inventories accumulated in the second half of 2022. Manufacturers are also working through supply chain issues which significantly cut into import shipments. In addition, price increases leveled off as demand slumped and material cost pressures subsided. Catalina, however, sees the decline in manufacturer sales bottoming out in the third quarter of 2023 and could begin to recover in the fourth quarter as the inventory liquidation ends. Manufacturer sales could turn up by the fourth quarter as the drop in new home construction levels off, the decline in existing home sales slows, and commercial demand remains strong. Read More

In 2022, U.S. floor coverings sales slowed considerably from the sharp gains experienced in 2021, according to Catalina Research. The year started strong since flooring sales were still benefiting from the surge in housing demand in 2021. Floor covering sales growth weakened in the second half as the Federal Reserve sharply increased interest rates to curb inflationary pressures. Rising interest rates caused housing starts and existing home sales — the primary drivers of U.S. floor coverings sales — to decline sharply. At the same time, inflationary pressures and supply chain issues caused flooring prices and installation costs to surge. The rising cost of an installed floor resulted in customer purchases slowing at an even sharper rate than manufacturer sales. Read More

Floor Focus’ Survey 2023: What the Retailers Think, in the July 2023 issue of Floor Focus, shows flooring category trends among independent retailers over a five-year period. Read More

Imports of vinyl flooring saw a decrease in May, down 6.7% year over year, but this follows a notable increase of 28.9% year over year last month, reports Truist. Read More

In the first five months of 2023 total U.S. imports of ceramic tile were 74.6 million square meters, a decline of 6% from the same period in 2022, according to Grosser Consulting. Read More

The momentum that the U.S. laminate flooring category generated in late 2020 and throughout 2021 continued to positively impact segment sales in 2022. Floor Covering News research shows the U.S. laminate flooring market generated approximately $1.382 billion in sales last year at the first point of sale—an uptick of 6% over the year prior. In terms of volume, the category grew at a slightly slower rate (4.5%), reaching roughly 1.098 billion square feet. The disparity in growth rates, industry observers say, can be attributed to slightly higher costs related to production/shipping, as well as more of an emphasis on better quality goods—those in the 10mm to 12mm range versus activity at the opening price point associated with 7mm products. Read More

What makes generations tick Consumers do not shop as a monolith. What drives an 18-year-old is far different than what drives a 60-year-old. Understanding what motivates different generations on their path to purchase is a crucial element to marketing to them. Read More

For the second year running tile flooring experienced sales growth after its 2020 decline, which had been the category’s first decrease in several years. Tile flooring was up mid-double digits in dollars in 2022 compared to 2021’s high single-digit increase. However, while dollar sales were up, much of that came from price increases and inflationary pressures. Volume experienced a slight decrease overall. Read More