The U.S. ceramic tile market contracted for the second straight year in 2023 as the U.S. housing market, with which it is closely linked, continued to struggle because of high mortgage rates, inflation and labor shortages.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, single-family new home starts, which comprised 66.8 percent of total 2023 home starts, fell 6.0 percent from the prior year to 944,500 units. Multifamily starts were down 14.4 percent from 2022 to 468,600 units.
Based on figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Inc., total U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2023 was 2.85 billion square feet, down 7.3 percent from the previous year. By value, total U.S. ceramic tile consumption was $4.06 billion, down 8.1 percent from 2022.
While many of the largest tile exporters to the U.S. experienced double-digit year-over-year percentage
declines, imports from India soared 42.6 percent by volume (2023 versus 2022). This represented an increase of 120.9 million square feet of Indian tile imported versus 2022. With a 20.3 percent share of U.S. imports, India became the largest exporter to the U.S. on a volume basis for the first time, replacing Spain, which had held the top spot since 2020.
Spain was the second-largest exporter to the U.S. in 2023, though its volume fell 19.4 percent compared to the previous year. Spanish imports held a 17.4 percent share of 2023 total U.S. imports by volume, down from 19.8 percent in 2022.
Mexico remained the third-largest exporter to the U.S. by volume in 2023 with a 16.7 percent share of total U.S. imports. Imports from Mexico by volume declined 7.8 percent versus 2022.
Although Italy was the fourth-largest exporter to the U.S. in 2023 by volume, its exports to the U.S. were down 20.5 percent versus the prior year. Italy’s share of imports fell from 17.3 percent in 2022 to 15.0 percent in 2023, its lowest import share on record.
Brazil replaced Turkey in the fifth spot despite seeing its exports to the U.S. fall 18.6 percent versus 2022. Brazilian tile made up 9.2 percent of U.S. imports in 2023, down from 10.4 percent the preceding year.
Figure 2, below, shows the percent share by volume of U.S. imports for the five countries exporting the most ceramic tile to the U.S.
2023 U.S. Ceramic Tile Shipments
According to TCNA, U.S. manufacturers shipped 847.3 million square feet of ceramic tile domestically in 2023, a 4.7 percent decline from the previous year.
By value, 2023 U.S. FOB (free on board) factory sales of domestic shipments were $1.50 billion, a 1.7 percent increase from the prior year. The per unit value of domestic shipments increased from $1.66 per square foot in 2022 to $1.77 per square foot last year.
Domestically produced tiles’ share (29.8 percent) of 2023 total U.S. consumption by volume was much higher than the shares of any individual country exporting to the U.S. The next highest shares of total consumption by volume belonged to India (14.2 percent), Spain (12.2 percent) and Mexico (11.8 percent).
2023 U.S. Ceramic Tile Exports
The U.S. Department of Commerce reports U.S. ceramic tile exports in 2023 were 51.0 million square feet., a 0.5 percent increase from 2022 and the highest total on record. The vast majority of these exports went to Canada (65.8 percent) and Mexico (19.7 percent). U.S. exports by value in 2023 were $53.3 million, up 1.4 percent from 2022.
Tariffs on Dumped and Subsidized Indian Imports
Although the decline in housing starts has been manageable for the domestic tile industry, the surge in ceramic tile imports from India (42.6 percent increase in volume from 2022 to 2023 and a 2,250 percent increase during the last five years) has caused production lines to shut down and shelved industry expansion plans.
On Friday, April 19, the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile, which represents more than 95 percent of all U.S. ceramic tile manufacturing, filed antidumping and countervailing duty trade remedy petitions with the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission. The petitions sought the imposition of substantial tariffs on imports of ceramic tile from India to remedy unfairly low-priced imports that have injured domestic manufacturers and flooded the market with uncertified porcelain tiles.
Dumping, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, “occurs when a foreign producer sells a product in the United States at a price that is below that producer’s sales price in the country of origin (‘home market’), or at a price that is lower than the cost of production.” Countervailable subsidies occur when foreign governments “provide financial assistance to benefit the production, manufacture, or exportation of goods. Subsidies can take many forms, such as direct cash payments, credits against taxes and loans at terms that do not reflect market conditions.” (Learn more.)
The amount of the trade remedy is determined to offset the difference in price occurring because of dumping and the amount of subsidies the foreign producer is receiving. In this fashion, the trade remedies create fair competition between companies and countries.
Specifically, in this instance, the tile industry’s anti-dumping petition seeks the imposition of tariffs
estimated between 408 to 828 percent in response to the ongoing massive and widespread dumping by Indian ceramic tile producers alleged by the U.S. tile industry. The countervailing duty petition seeks the imposition of additional tariffs to remedy the impact of numerous Indian government subsidies—subsidies that have further injured domestic manufacturers.
American tile manufacturers always have welcomed fair competition from imports. In fact, U.S. manufacturers have plentiful deposits of clay and feldspar, an efficient and well-respected labor force, local community support, state-of-the-art equipment, and affordable energy—so much so that major exporters from Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and China have built facilities in the U.S. from which to compete on a global scale. However, Indian tile producers enjoy substantial government subsidies, which in conjunction with selling excess capacity at dumped prices, has allowed them to flood the U.S. market. During the last 10 years, sales of tile from India have increased from a mere 344,000 square feet in 2013 to nearly 405 million square feet by the end of 2023. Our domestic manufacturers had no alternative but to petition the federal government for relief from these unjust trading practices. The vitality of the U.S. industry and the livelihoods of thousands of employees and their families within our member companies depend on it.
On May 31, the U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously determined a reasonable indication of material injury or threat of material injury to U.S. tile manufacturers by reason of imports of ceramic tile from India. The Department of Commerce will continue its investigation of imports to better inform all parties of the extent of dumping and Indian government subsidies taking place.
The Department of Commerce reports its preliminary countervailing duty determination on or about July 15 and its preliminary antidumping duty determination on or about Sept. 26, unless the dates are extended due to the complexity of the matter. An extension of approximately 60 days to these dates is possible. A determination of final tariffs will be made at the conclusion of the investigation in the Summer 2025, with such tariffs applied retroactively to the date of preliminary tariffs and possibly to the date of initiation (April 19, 2024). With substantial domestic tile manufacturing concentrated in Tennessee, with ready access to raw materials and easy transportation of finished products to most of the nation (along with an excellent work force, community support and statewide training initiatives), the outcome of the federal investigation will be crucial in determining not only the future success of existing domestic tile manufacturing and the thousands of good jobs it has created, but also opportunities for further job creation in Tennessee and elsewhere. Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma and Kentucky also enjoy substantial tile manufacturing, and artisanal manufacturers can be found in every state. Let’s hope the future tariffs allow that to continue.
View a list of Tile Council of North America Inc.’s members.
