Articles

As flooring manufacturers head into 2020, leaders are bullish on the industry’s outlook and are making extensive and aggressive plans to invest in a variety of areas to grow their businesses, from expanding their physical footprints to growing their product assortments.  Read More

Total housing starts increased 16.9 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.61 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department. This is a 13-year high for housing starts. Read More

"With the Federal Reserve on pause and attractive mortgage rates, the steady rise in single-family construction that began last spring will continue into 2020," said NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. "However, builders continue to grapple with a shortage of lots and labor while buyers are frustrated by a lack of inventory, particularly among starter homes." Read More

“While homebuilding and sales activity are now firming, softness from earlier last year will continue to pull on remodeling spending growth in 2020,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. “However, the slowdown should begin to moderate by year-end as today’s healthier housing market indicators will ultimately lead to more home renovation and repair.” Read More

The tile industry saw a 2.1 percent increase in 2019, totaling $3.9 billion in sales according to Catalina Research. While growth was in the low single digits, Catalina noted that ceramic tile was the only flooring category outside of resilient to gain share in 2019. This year, the tile industry is looking to raise its competitive edge by expanding into new spaces such as kitchen and bath and exteriors.  Read More

The need for immigrants is particularly critical in the high-growth states like California, Texas and Florida, where the economy has the opportunity to expand but is hindered by a critical shortage of labor. Austan Goolsbee, a rather renowned economist at the University of Chicago, has stated that half of the Fortune 500 firms were started by immigrants or their children. The long and the short of the matter is that without immigration, our California economy will suffer and be hindered in its long-term economic goals. Read More

The industry’s strength was centered in luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products, while sales of all other flooring products declined. Catalina said in 2019, LVT sales could have increased by over 25 percent in dollars and square feet (Catalina Report on LVT and Other Resilient Flooring). On the other hand, sales of all other flooring products could have declined by 2.9 percent in dollars and 5 percent in square feet, Catalina said, adding the weakest performing sectors were carpet and area rugs, laminate flooring and wood flooring. Conversely, the ceramic tile sector was able to make some inroads in the face of soaring LVT sale Read More

There are several reasons why fixing up older buildings has been crowding out new building construction. The U.S. population has been growing more slowly in recent years, and likewise, the number of employed workers in our economy has followed suit. With slower growth in new workers, there is less need to build new office buildings. With slower growth in the number of students entering our secondary schools and colleges, there is less need to build new educational facilities. Read More

"With almost all the 2019 data in, the housing rebound continued through second half of the year," said NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. "New home sales are running 10 percent higher than in 2018, and high levels of builder confidence point to production gains going into 2020."  Read More

"Market conditions for single-family starts are positive, given a lack of resale inventory, low interest rates and a solid job market," said Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "Builder confidence points to additional gains as we look forward." Read More