Wood Flooring Manufacturing

Wood Flooring Manufacturing

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry make wood flooring products. Major companies include Armstrong World Industries (AWI), Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries, and Wood Flooring International (all based in the US), along with A&W (Shanghai) Woods (China), Goodfellow and Tembec (Canada), Pergo (Sweden), and Tarkett (France).

The global market for wood flooring is expected to reach nearly 9 billion square feet by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts. Leading countries for wood flooring manufacture include Canada, China, and the US.

The US wood flooring manufacturing industry includes about 100 companies with combined annual revenue of about $2 billion and is expected to experience a high rate of growth over the next two years. Growth drivers include residential construction and remodeling activity.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for wood flooring is closely tied to residential construction and remodeling activity. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations. Large companies have economies of scale in purchasing machinery and raw materials. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing.

Competition for the industry comes from manufacturers of alternative flooring products such as carpet, vinyl, and ceramic tile.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Wood flooring is milled from hardwoods, principally oak but also maple, ash, beech, birch, pecan, walnut, hickory, and others. Oak is popular due to its hardness, low cost, appearance, and wide availability; red oak accounts for about 40 percent of wood flooring sales.

Wood flooring comes in three main shapes: strips, planks, and parquet. Strips typically range in thickness from...