Articles

After maintaining a robust performance in 2022, porcelain and ceramic tile experienced a slight downturn in 2023, mirroring the tumult seen in the real estate market thanks to high interest rates. Catalina Research reported that, in 2023, tile’s estimated sales value was $4.31 billion, a 3.5 percent decrease from 2022. This equals 3.15 billion square feet of product sold in 2023, down roughly 254,00 million square feet from 2022. This difference in value from 2022 is the first decrease tile has posted in five years. Read More

Resilient flooring in total has been the industry growth leader for the past two decades charting a meteoric rise and capturing the second largest piece of the floor covering pie in 2023 — LVT alone accounts for 27.6 percent of manufacturers’ sales. Still, the category has been challenged as market sales values have dropped across categories from 2022 to 2023. Read More

U.S. floor coverings sales declined in 2023 after two years of relatively strong growth, according to Catalina Research. Rising interest rates resulted in a declining housing market which caused flooring purchases to drop. Total U.S. housing demand (resales, new starts and manufactured home shipments) decreased 28.6 percent between 2021 and 2023 as mortgage interest rates surged by 129.4 percent. Housing demand drives floor covering spending since some 60 percent of the total market comes from homeowner and builder purchases. Meanwhile, commercial market sales opportunities remained on an upward trend since nonresidential building construction spending continued to increase at double-digit rates. Commercial market growth, however, could not offset the decline in residential markets. Read More

Mohawk Industries has published its 15th annual impact report, Surfaces with Purpose, which documents the company’s 2023 progress toward its sustainability goals. With teams and manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, Mohawk is the world’s largest flooring manufacturer. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of residential and commercial products aligned with local market preferences, including a broad selection of sustainable products in every category. Read More

Encouraging signs of economic recovery following the lingering challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic continued in 2023 for the commercial contract flooring market, although not to the extent of 2022’s 13.1% increase in dollars. FCNews research shows total commercial sales reached $7.227 billion in 2023—a 1.5% decrease from 2022. This compares favorably to overall industry sales, which were off 10.1% from the year prior. Read More

The annual RēCo Market Intelligence Report has held strong for 21 years. Below are the results for the tile category. Fieldwork was conducted using an online survey methodology from March 2024 through May 2024. In total, 1,028 complete surveys from specialty floor covering retailers were received by May 10, 2024. Read More

U.S. hard-surface imports of $395.2 million in April kept the good news rolling, with an increase of 13.3% from March and an 8% gain year-over-year. Read More

U.S. kitchen and bath product manufacturer sales turned the corner in the first quarter of 2024 after hitting bottom in the fourth quarter of 2023. The rebound, however, was weak since homeowner kitchen and bathroom renovations remain sluggish. Read More

The U.S. ceramic tile market contracted for the second straight year in 2023, as the U.S. housing market with which it is closely linked continued to struggle due to high mortgage rates, inflation, and labor shortages. Read More

U.S. hard-surface imports began 2024 in much the same way they left 2023, with January's $374.2 million in value only increasing by 0.6% from last December. Read More