SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
Laminate flooring continues to make inroads in the U.S. floor coverings industry and hard surface flooring market, however, this market has entered a more mature growth stage. Manufacturers and marketers are currently facing a weak housing market and slower long-term growth rates. At the same time, competition increased from vertically integrated European manufacturers and imports from low cost producing countries, such as China. The European manufacturers have also significantly increased their North American production capacity. These trends have led to downward pressures on prices and profits. To outpace the slowing market environment, competitors must introduce products to take advantage of favorable demographics by enhancing style and design offerings, make efforts to sell to the builders market, and upgrade product lines to take advantage of the growth in commercial markets.
LAMINATE FLOORING INDUSTRY TRENDS
Catalina Research has uncovered these trends in our 153-page in-depth report on the North American and European laminate flooring market. Report sections cover the U.S. market on a dollar and square foot basis. Catalina has calculated laminate’s position in the total U.S. floor coverings industry and the hard surface flooring market. Catalina also conducted a comparative analysis of laminate flooring prices and other floor material prices.
NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTION, IMPORTS, AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Data trends on North American laminate flooring production and imports are compiled from various industry sources in order to calculate the total market. The report includes an analysis of North American imports and the major countries of origin. In addition, information on over 20-leading manufacturers and marketers is compiled to quickly review the products, source of supply, and pricing of the leading competitors. Catalina reviewed industry and company literature to uncover trends on new technologies and new products. Catalina also compiled information on new plant construction to gauge its effect on industry production capacity.
WORLD LAMINATE FLOORING MARKETS
Laminate flooring markets are also evaluated by world area. European production and sales trends are included in order to indicate laminate’s position in the European floor coverings market, and European company’s position in world markets. Pergo and Unilin’s financial trends are analyzed as well. Pergo sales and profit margins are provided by world area.
END-USE MARKETS AND RETAIL DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Laminate flooring sales are provided for residential replacement, new residential construction, and commercial markets. Laminate’s level of penetration is calculated for each market. Leading brand penetration rates are provided for the builder and remodeling contractor markets. For the top brands, penetration rates are provided by region, type of home, and size of builder or remodeler. Sales data is also analyzed by retail sales channel- specialty floor coverings stores, home centers and other building material dealers, and other retailers.
FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND
A separate section analyzes the factors driving laminate flooring demand. Data trends include household hard surface flooring spending and purchaser demographics, residential construction activity and home resales, regional housing markets, and commercial construction spending. This provides insights into the direction of domestic demand in 2007 and beyond.
COMPANY PROFILES AND THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
Catalina Research profiled 23-leading U.S.- and European-based laminate flooring manufacturers and marketers. Company profiles cover product lines, manufacturing and distribution, capital investments and acquisitions, and new products and technology enhancements. Catalina utilized this valuable information to uncover competitor strategies. Sales data was compiled in order to calculate company market shares.
Additional Information
SUBJECT MATTER
1. U.S. LAMINATE FLOORING INDUSTRY TRENDS (2002-2012)
Executive summary
Competitive environment
Market size and growth
Source of supply
Share of U.S. floor coverings industry
Retail distribution channels
New technologies/product development
Price trends
End-use markets and factors driving demand
Market outlook
2. U.S. LAMINATE FLOORING MARKET TRENDS (1995-2012)
Market sales in square feet and dollars
Laminate’s share of the hard surface flooring market
Laminate’s position in the U.S. floor coverings market
Comparative flooring material prices
Laminate flooring price trends
3. NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTION, IMPORTS, AND MANUFACTURERS (1999-2007)
North American market: U.S. and Canada
Nineteen U.S. laminate flooring marketers showing brands/where produced
North American production
North American imports
Imports by major country of origin
North American capital projects
U.S. import freight costs/tariff charges
Market shares for the top eight brands
Review of direct laminating production technology/glue-less formats/embossing designs/beveled edges/acoustics/other new features
4. WORLD LAMINATE FLOORING MARKETS (1995-2007)
World laminate flooring market
European sales by world market
Market size by world area
Pergo sales by world area and profit trends
European laminate flooring production
Quarterly Unilin sales and profits
5. U.S. DISTIBUTION CHANNELS AND END-USE MARKETS(1987-2006)
Laminate flooring retail sales by outlet
Top six brands used by builders/by region, home type, units built, and cost of home
Total retail floor coverings sale/outlets
Purchases by end-use market
Ten leading brands used by new home builders and remodeling contractors
Top six brands used by remodelers by region, cost and number of projects, and home type
6. FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND (1977-2007)
Building construction spending
Regional housing analysis
Spending by building type
Remodeler spending/demographics
Housing completions and resales
Mortgage rates and personal income
Housing starts, permits, and factory-built housing
Household spending on hard surface flooring and installation
New home sales by price and size
Spending by household demographic
Leading U.S. home builders
Canadian building permits/starts
7. COMPANY PROFILES
Catalina Research has profiled 23-leading North American-, European-, and Asian-based laminate flooring manufacturers and marketers. Some of the top companies include:
Alloc
Armstrong
Columbia Flooring
Faus
Kronotex
Mannington
Mohawk/Unilin
Pergo
Shaw
Tarkett
Uniboard
Wilsonart
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
The Catalina Report on Laminate Flooring is a guide to the growth- and profit-oriented opportunities in this growing sector of the U.S. floor coverings market. This comprehensive database covers U.S. market sales and pricing trends, laminate’s share of total U.S. floor coverings sales, North American production and imports, world demand and European production, end-use markets, distribution channels, and factors affecting demand. In addition, leading North American-, European-, and Asian-based manufacturers and marketers are profiled in order to uncover competitor strategies.
The total laminate flooring market is analyzed on a dollar and unit basis (Section 2). Market data is compiled from Floor Covering Weekly (FCW) surveys from 1995 to 2001, and are estimated and forecasted by Catalina Research thereafter. Laminate flooring’s position in the total U.S. floor coverings industry and the total hard surface flooring market is calculated by Catalina Research based on U.S. Department of Commerce shipment surveys and U.S. Customs import and export data. Catalina Research calculated laminate flooring prices per square foot and compared these prices to other flooring materials.
Catalina Research also compiled and calculated data on the North American market, production, and imports (Section 3). Data trends are estimated from statistics provided by the European Producers of Laminate Flooring association (EPLF), the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Statistics Canada. Imports by country of origin were analyzed as well. Catalina Research used the most recent company sales data to estimate 2005 and 2006 market shares. As part of this process, Catalina Research reviewed industry strategies concerning new technologies and new product development.
Using EPLF data, Catalina Research compiled and analyzed data on the world market (Section 4). Data trends are provided for European production and European company sales by world market. Pergo and Unilin sales and profit trends are compiled as part of the effort to review the competitive environment in Europe. Pergo sales and margins are also analyzed by world area.
FCW data and discussions with industry players were used to calculate laminate flooring sales by retail distribution channel and by end-use market (Section 5). U.S. Department of Commerce surveys were used to calculate laminate flooring’s position by channel and end-use market. Brand preferences for new home builders and remodeling contractors are compiled from Professional Builder’s brand studies.
Section 6 analyzes the factors driving laminate flooring demand. U.S. government data tracks residential and nonresidential building activity, housing starts and permits, specialty floor coverings retailer sales, homeowner spending on hard surface flooring, remodeler spending and demographics, and mortgage rate and personal income trends. Existing home resale activity is also tracked.
Each report section is summarized in order to uncover the important trends in the laminate flooring industry. The Executive Summary Section (Section 1) provides an overview of the key factors causing laminate flooring to be a growing sector of the U.S. floor coverings industry. Data is supplemented with individual company developments covering new products, new technologies, capacity expansion, distribution, and sales trends in order to provide insights into how competitors are implementing strategies to take advantage of growth opportunities in this market (Section 7).
Action-oriented executives are urged to use this comprehensive statistical database to uncover growing sales opportunities, penetrate end-use markets, target key demographic markets, and initiate profitable operating strategies. Executives are urged to compute their own company’s market share and compare their company’s operating ratios to the industry averages as part of this process.
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