Italian tiles reign supreme in the American market

Apr 10, 2006

10/04/06 - Coverings 2006, which ended last Friday in Orlando, Florida, hosted the customary international press conference organised by Assopiastrelle to analyse the state of the US market.
According to US Department of Commerce figures, ceramic tile consumption in the United States totalled 304.7 million sq.m in 2005, with imports amounting to 246 million sq.m.
Italian imports account for 21.1%, while Brazil is the second-largest exporter country with 13.8%. Mexico is in third place with 12.5%, 1.3 percentage points ahead of Spain.

“The official US statistics confirm Italy as the leading foreign supplier to the United States,” declared Assopiastrelle Chairman Alfonso Panzani during the international press conference.
“Although our exports have fallen by around 4.5 million square metres (from 68.5 to 64.5 million sq.m), this is offset by an increase in average price of 68.5 dollars per square metre.
Following the recent acquisitions of Florida Tile by PanariaGroup, the US production capacity controlled by our companies is about 50% of the total, a value that reinforces our leadership position.”

“One of the main causes of concern is the rise in interest rates,” concluded Mr Panzani, “which in a highly indebted market may well cause a slowdown. The exchange rate variations are another negative factor that has penalised us considerably in the last few months.”

Italy also took centre stage during the Grand Prize Coverings 2006 Booth Award, the prize presented by NTP (National Trade Production) in cooperation with Assopiastrelle (Italy), Ascer (Spain) and TCA (America) for the best stands in terms of design and product presentation.
The overall winner was the Florim Group (Italy), while honourable mentions went to Cotto D’Este (Italy), Etruria Design (Italy), Ege Seramik (Turkey), Lamosa (Mexico), Oceanside Glasstile (USA) and Tau Ceramica (Spain). (The in-focus section contains photos from the award ceremony).

cov_ina_06.jpgThe Grand prize booth awards 2006 winners