Articles

Ceramic World Review has updated the figures for the world’s top 25 ceramic tile groups (as for production volumes) in 2019. Respect to the previous year, the positions of the three largest tile producers remain unchanged. Read More

While 2018 saw the first decline in global tile production and consumption, the negative trend continued through 2019. By contrast, import-export flows remained in positive territory but grew by just 1%. Read More

The tile industry hit by Covid-19 October 29, 2020 Article from Ceramic World Review no. 138 Just like other sectors, the global ceramic industry will have to deal… Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020, as efforts continued to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19. In the second quarter of 2020, real GDP decreased 31.4 percent. Read More

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in September fell 3.5 percent to 959,000 from a downwardly revised August number, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the monthly decline, the September rate is 32.1 percent higher than the September 2019 pace, and on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 16.9 percent in 2020. Read More

Single-family starts showed continued growth in September as overall housing production increased 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units, according to a report from according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Read More

"Traffic remains high and record-low interest rates are keeping demand strong as the concept of 'home' has taken on renewed importance for work, study and other purposes in the Covid era," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "However, it is becoming increasingly challenging to build affordable homes as shortages of lots, labor, lumber and other key building materials are lengthening construction times." Read More

"With refinancing activity surging, home owners are investing in their homes, which is sustaining strong demand for remodeling," said NAHB Remodelers Chair Tom Ashley, Jr., CAPS, CGP, CGR, a remodeler from Denham Springs, La. "As a result of the rapid changes for work and the economy after the virus-induced recession, homes are serving multiple roles such as school, office and gym. This has directly increased the demand for improvements." Read More

Builder market bright spot: Floor coverings to see Q4 gains Thursday, October 15, 2020 from Floor Covering Weekly Prime Edition New data gathered by Catalina Research shows… Read More

All economic recessions have distinguishing characteristics. For some, it is rampant inflation. For others it is a collapse of a sector of the economy — technology, banking, real estate or basic manufacturing are recent examples. Even with the variation that we have seen in recent recessions, this pandemic-induced downturn is unique among several dimensions. Probably what is most unique is that some businesses have seen devastating losses, while others are largely unaffected or even seeing unexpected growth. Read More