PIERS report: Imports drop over past 2 years
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 14, 2008
High Point — A report from PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions indicates furniture imports have dropped in the past two years, which the company attributed to a weak housing market in this country and the sagging value of the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, the weaker dollar has caused furniture exports to strengthen, PIERS said.
The report said furniture imports peaked and leveled off at about an annual rate of 2.1 million TEUs — the equivalent of a 20-foot container — between 2005 and 2006. They started to drop off in early 2006, falling to about 1.8 million TEUs by early 2007, but were projected to reach 2 million by early 2008.
PIERS stands for Port Import Export Reporting Service. Its figures are for shipments through U.S. ports, and don't take into account cross-border trade between this country and its neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
During 2007's third quarter, the company listed the top 10 importers of furniture as Ashley Furniture Inds., Costco Wholesale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores, Pier 1 Imports, Target Corp., Woodstuff Mfg. (SLF), Hooker Furniture, Furniture Brands International, The Bombay Company and Levitz Furniture.
Ashley also topped the list of the largest U.S. furniture exporters, followed by City Furniture, Rooms To Go, Home Depot, Coaster Co. of America, Leggett & Platt, American Furniture Wholesale Corp., Sears Holdings Corp., Furnitureland South and Furniture Brands International.
Exports, the report said, rose from an annual rate of about 54,000 TEUs in early 2003 to just over 70,000 by late 2007. With the U.S. dollar expected to remain weak, PIERS predicted furniture exports will continue to grow at an annual pace of 3%.
The report identified the top 10 countries receiving furniture from the United States as Japan, China, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
PIERS listed the top 10 U.S. source countries as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, Brazil and Hong Kong.
Oil prices, the report said, will continue to rise, which will increase costs of both imports and exports. But PIERS predicts those costs will ease later in 2008.
A copy of the report is available at www.piers.com/homefurnishingssnapshot.
