Shipments of Domestic Tile Hit All-Time High in 2017

Anderson, SC, May 10, 2018-In 2017, the U.S. ceramic tile market surpassed the three billion square foot level for the first time since 2006, reports the Tile Council of North America (TCNA).

Total consumption was 3.05 billion square feet (283 million meters), up 5.1% from 2016 and the fourth highest total of all time.

U.S. shipments of ceramic tile rose 4.1% from 2016 to 2017 to a record high of 946.5 million square feet. Domestic production, which has increased each of the last eight years, has been boosted recently by the expansion and opening of additional manufacturing facilities in Tennessee.

Domestically-produced tile was by far the tile of choice of consumers, as 31.1% of all tile (by square feet) consumed domestically in 2017 was made in the U.S. The next highest countries of origin were China (21.6% of all tile consumed in the U.S.), Mexico (13.1%), and Italy (12.4%).

In dollar value U.S. FOB (free on board) factory sales of domestic shipments in 2017 were also at a record high of $1.43 billion, up 6.1% vs. 2016. Domestically-produced tile comprised 39.3% of total U.S. tile consumption by dollar value, almost double that of Italian tile imports, which made up 20.5% of the U.S. market.

The per unit value of domestic shipments increased from $1.49 square feet in 2016 to $1.51 square feet in 2017.

U.S. ceramic tile exports were 28.5 million square feet in 2017, down 21.3% from 2016. The vast majority of these exports were to Canada (75.3%) and Mexico (8.4%).

In 2017 the U.S. imported 2.10 billion square feet of ceramic tile, up 5.6% from 2016 (1.99 billion square feet).

Imports comprised 68.9% of 2017 U.S. tile consumption in square feet, up slightly from 68.6% in 2016.