Dec 23 2010
Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Ceramic Tile Market
SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
The $2.0 billion U.S. ceramic tile market began to recover during 2010 and the recovery is expected to continue into 2011. The rebound is being led by growth in the residential remodeling and replacement market. The builder market could also begin to increase, however, this market will continue to be hampered by the foreclosure situation and a rising residential vacancy rate. Nonresidential markets may show a slight gain in 2011 since vacancy rates in this sector also remains high. The upturn in U.S. demand is being aided by declining average ceramic tile prices. Declining average prices has contributed to ceramic tile regaining some share of the U.S. floor coverings market as consumers continue to seek out value-priced flooring. The price drop is being led by cuts in average prices shipped from U.S. plants. This has increased their share of U.S. ceramic tile sales. However, low-cost tiles manufacturers in Mexico and China also gained share.
CERAMIC TILE MARKET TRENDS
Catalina Research uncovered these trends in our 183-page report on the U.S. ceramic tile industry. Report sections cover the U.S. market on a dollar and square foot basis. Catalina has calculated ceramic tile's position in the U.S. floor coverings industry and the hard surface flooring market. Catalina also conducted a comparative analysis of ceramic and other flooring material prices.
SOURCE OF SUPPLY
Separate sections evaluate U.S. shipments and imports. Data is segmented by tile size and whether the tile is glazed or unglazed. Import shipments are tracked by country of origin. As part of our analysis, Catalina calculated U.S. tile sales by country of origin. There is also an analysis of tile pricing by country source, as well as insurance, freight, and tariff costs faced by importers. In addition, Catalina reviewed the product strategies of the major competitors including the introduction of porcelain tiles and stone looks, and investments in new U.S. production capacity.
END-USE MARKETS AND FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND
Ceramic tile sales are provided for residential and nonresidential markets and for new construction and remodeling markets. End-use market trends are correlated with U.S. housing demand, homeowner hard surface replacement projects and spending, characteristics of new homes, nonresidential construction spending, mortgage interest rates, and other economic indicators to uncover the factors driving demand and provide insights into the direction of domestic demand in 2011 and beyond.
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS AND CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS
Ceramic tile distribution is analyzed by type of outlet. The specialty floor covering store and home center channels are evaluated to indicate the shifts in industry sales channels. In addition, the tile contractor business is evaluated by type of building and by region and state. Catalina analyzed household spending on hard surface flooring products by household income, age of household head, household size, and region to point to important target markets.
WORLDS MARKETS AND U.S. EXPORTS
Catalina analyzed world output, and the tile market in major producing and consuming countries. The manufacturing base and domestic demand were reviewed for the Chinese, Brazilian, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Mexican, and other markets. Catalina also calculated global market shares for twenty leading manufacturers. U.S. exports are analyzed by product and major country of destination. In addition, Catalina reviewed Canadian import trends.
COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND PLANT PROFIT MARGINS
In addition, Catalina Research examined the cost structure and profitability of U.S. ceramic tile plants. Data trends are compiled for material, labor, and capital inputs. Catalina supplemented industry data with profiles and sales of 14 leading U.S.- and foreign-based manufactures. Catalina used this data to calculate leading manufacturer market shares. Company profiles cover product lines and new products, manufacturing and distribution, capital investments, and acquisitions. Executives are urged to review the growth- and profit-oriented strategies of leading worldwide ceramic tile manufactures and compare their company's own performance to the industry averages.
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
The Catalina Report on Ceramic Tile is a guide to the sales and profit-oriented opportunities in this important sector of the U.S. floor coverings industry. This comprehensive database covers U.S. shipments, imports and world markets, end-use markets, factors affecting domestic demand, distribution and demographics, exports, the cost structure of U.S. plants, and the competitive environment. In addition, major U.S. manufacturers and marketers are profiled to review competitor source of supply and distribution strategies.
U.S. manufacturer sales are calculated from U.S. Department of Commerce statistics by collecting data on domestic plant shipments subtracting exports and adding imports (Section 1). Manufacturing sales are provided in square feet and dollars and average prices are calculated as well. Data is provided on an annual and quarterly basis. Catalina also conducted a comparative growth analysis with the key factors driving U.S. ceramic tile demand, and compared ceramic tile prices to other floor covering materials. In addition, the industry's plant profit margins are compared to the U.S. manufacturing average. Section and report findings are provided in the Executive Summary in order to develop strategies to outperform the industry averages.
Sections 2 and 3 analyze the industry's source of supply and product mix. Data is provided for glazed and unglazed tile and mosaic and non-mosaic tile. U.S. shipments are compiled from Department of Commerce surveys. Shipments are for all domestic manufacturers, whether plants are owned by U.S.- or foreign-based companies, and whether or not plants specialize (50.0% or more of total facility revenues) in ceramic tile. U.S. import data is derived from U.S. Customs records. Import data is segmented by product and country of origin. World ceramic tile production and market trends and data for leading world manufacturers are analyzed in Section 4. This section also tracks Canadian ceramic tile imports.
Catalina correlated these trends with factors affecting domestic demand in order to estimate and forecast the data provided in the previous sections (Section 6). This section analyzes data on U.S. residential and nonresidential construction activity, residential remodeling markets, and other factors affecting U.S. demand. An analysis of U.S. ceramic tile purchases by end-use market is also included (Section 5).
In addition, Section 5 investigates U.S. ceramic tile distribution patterns and consumer demographics. Government data include retail sales of hard surface flooring by type of outlet and revenues of ceramic tile contractors. Contractor revenues are provided by type of building, type of work, and by region and state. The average value per square foot of installed tile is calculated as well. A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on household hard surface flooring purchases by demographic characteristic. Spending is segmented by income, age, size of household, and region. Tables also provide data on U.S. exports.
Catalina supplies data on the cost structure and profitability of U.S. plants specializing in the manufacture and sale of ceramic tile (Section 7). U.S. Department of Commerce data covering these plants and imports are supplemented with individual company sales data in