As the main producing area of mid-to-high-end furniture, Europe has increased in the first three quarters of this year compared to most of the previous ones. As a major furniture importer, the United States has what changes in furniture demand! ?
Italian furniture exports increased by 77% in the second quarter
In the second quarter, Italian furniture exports increased by 77% to 2.903 billion euros, which is 13% higher than the level before the new crown crisis. According to Eurostat, deliveries to France increased by 79% compared to the same period last year, reaching 493.2 million euros. Exports to the United States (to 385.8 million euros) and the United Kingdom (to 242 million euros) more than doubled. Delivery to Germany increased by 24% at a relatively low rate, reaching 271.1 million Euros.
Italian furniture imports increased by 74% to 669.5 million euros, which is also 8% higher than the pre-crisis level. Imports from China (+87% to 206.7 million euros), Poland (+85% to 58.8 million euros) and Romania (+146% to 51.7 million euros) recorded significant increases. Imports from Germany also increased by 49%, reaching 79.3 million euros (53.1 million euros).
Cumulative exports in the first half of the year increased by 40% to 5.404 billion euros. Imports at the end of June increased by 36% to 1.308 billion euros.
Swedish furniture production begins to decline again
According to preliminary information, Swedish furniture production fell again for the first time in six years in 2020, down 2.8% to 24.5 billion Swedish kronor-about 2.4 billion euros. According to data published by Träoch Möbelföretagen (TMF), the timber and furniture industry association, after a 9.6% drop in 2013 to 20.7 billion Swedish kronor, the output value has increased every year for the next six years. From 2013 to 2019, the overall growth rate was close to 25%. After still achieving a growth of 6.4% in 2018, the growth in 2019 slowed down significantly to +0.4%.
Last year, office furniture and kitchen furniture each accounted for 17% of the total output; furniture parts 18%; mattresses and upholstered furniture each 7%; the remaining 33% was miscellaneous furniture. In 2019, TMF reported the production distribution of each product group as follows: office furniture 20%, kitchen furniture 18%, furniture parts 15%, mattresses 4%, upholstered furniture 7%, and miscellaneous furniture 36%.
France: Furniture production exceeds pre-crisis levels
Furniture production in France has increased significantly in the first five months and is therefore 1.3% higher than the record level in the same period in 2019. According to data from French market research agency Ipea, compared with the first five months of 2020, production has increased by nearly 50%-exceeding the 30.8% decline recorded in the same period last year. Among the four market segments listed in Ipea's economic activity report, the kitchen furniture and miscellaneous furniture segments have reached their respective pre-crisis levels.
After production fell by more than one-third in the same period last year, the kitchen furniture industry recorded a 72.9% increase, the largest increase in the first five months. This increase means that it is about 15% higher than the pre-crisis level.
U.S. furniture trade records increase in August turnover
In August, the turnover of the US furniture retail industry (adjusted for seasonal effects and the number of trading days) increased by 15.6% year-on-year to 12.495 billion US dollars. According to preliminary estimates, the US Department of Commerce stated that its unadjusted turnover in August increased by 16.1% to USD 12.795 billion. Therefore, the growth level in August is similar to the growth levels in June and July. In the past three months, the growth rate has actually been much higher due to distorted comparison figures related to last year’s coronavirus-related recession.
In the first eight months of this year, the unadjusted turnover was USD 94.725 billion. This is equivalent to an increase of 35.2% over the previous year.