2024 U.S. Ceramic Tile Market Update

Total U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2024 was 250.9 million sq.m, down 5.1% from the previous year. Imports fell by 3.5% to 179.4 million sq.m.

2024 was another year of struggles for the U.S. ceramic tile market. Tile consumption decreased for the third straight year largely due to issues in the residential market.

Based on figures from U.S. Dept. of Commerce and Tile Council of North America, total U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2024 was 250.9 million m2 (2.70 billion sq. ft.), down 5.1% from the previous year.

The volume of domestically produced tile decreased by 9.8%, from 83.5 million m2 in 2023 to 75.3 million m2 last year. U.S. manufacturers shipped 71.5 million m2 (769.9 million sq. ft.) of ceramic tile domestically, down 9.1% from the prior year and the lowest annual total since 2013.

By volume, U.S. shipments’ share of total U.S. consumption was 28.5% last year, down from 29.8% in 2023. Even so, domestically produced tiles’ share of total U.S. consumption far outpaced the shares of any individual country exporting to the U.S. The next highest shares of total consumption by volume were held by India (14.6%), Spain (12.6%), and Italy (11.4%).

By value, U.S. FOB factory sales of domestic shipments in 2024 were $1.37 billion, an 8.4% decrease from the previous year. U.S. shipments comprised 36.2% of total U.S. tile consumption by value, down from 36.9% in 2023.

The per unit value of domestic shipments in 2024 was $19.22/m2 ($1.79/sq. ft.), up from $19.06/m2 ($1.77/sq. ft.) the preceding year.

U.S. ceramic tile exports in 2024 were 3.8 million m2 (41.1 million sq. ft.), down 19.5% from the previous year. The lion’s share of U.S. exports by volume went to our North American neighbours, Canada (78.1%) and Mexico (9.9%). U.S. exports by value in 2024 were $46.4 million, down 13.0% from 2023.

U.S. Imports

According to figures by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, in 2024 U.S. ceramic tile imports were at 179.4 million m2 (1.93 billion sq. ft.), a 3.5% decline from the previous year.

Although imports from India declined 2.7% from 2023 to 36.6 million m2, India was the largest exporter to the U.S. by volume for the second straight year. Indian tile comprised 20.4% of total U.S. imports, up slightly from its 20.3% share the preceding year.

Spain remained the second largest exporter to the U.S. last year despite its volume falling 2.6% vs. 2023. Spanish imports held a 17.6% share of 2024 total U.S. imports by volume, up from 17.4% the previous year.

Italy passed Mexico to become the third largest exporter to the U.S. by volume with a 16.0% share of total U.S. imports, up from 15.0% in 2023. Imports from Italy rose 2.9% by volume vs. the prior year.

Each of the next three largest exporters to the U.S. by volume in 2024 experienced double-digit declines compared to 2023: Mexico (-12.3%), Brazil (-17.7%), and Turkey (-16.9%).

It was a different story, however, for the two largest exporters from Southeast Asia. Vietnam and Malaysia each experienced robust growth in their shipments to the U.S. and reached record high volume totals. Vietnamese imports rose 36.7% vs 2023, and Malaysian imports soared 94.6% from the previous year.

In 2024, the total value of ceramic tile imports decreased by 5.6% to US$ 2.42 billion. On a dollar basis (CIF + duty), Italy remained the largest exporter to the U.S., comprising 29.2% of 2024 U.S. imports (US$ 707 million, -2.1%), followed by Spain with a 24.8% share (US$ 600 million, -9.0%) and Mexico with an 11.2% share (US$ 271 million, -6.6%).

Once again in 2024, Italian tiles had the highest average price of $24.69/m2, down 4.8% from $25.94/m2 in 2023. Spanish average value also decreased from $20.35/ m2 to $19.03/m2 (-6.5%).

The average price of Indian tiles decreased for the second straight year from $6.88/m2 in 2023 to $6.64 in 2024 (-3.5%), the lowest price among the ten largest exporting countries.

Read the complete article published in Ceramic World Review n. 160