SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS The $2.2 billion (manufacturers’ dollars) U.S. wood flooring market has made significant inroads in the domestic floor coverings industry. The inroads were stimulated by growing consumer acceptance of high-end hard surface flooring, as well as more diverse offerings by wood flooring manufacturers. Manufacturers now offer a wide range of species, colors, and custom-type designs. The industry has also stimulated demand with easier and less costly to install products such as prefinished, engineered, and glueless wood floors. These new products and technologies have increased competitive pressures. Rising material costs have put additional pressure on the market’s bottom line performance.

WOOD FLOORING INDUSTRY TRENDS Catalina Research has uncovered these trends in our in-depth analysis of the North American wood flooring industry. U.S. shipments, exports, and price trends are evaluated for hardwood and softwood flooring products. Hardwood flooring shipments are further segmented for strip oak, oak parquetry, specialty oak, maple, and other hardwood flooring products. Data is provided on a dollar and unit basis. Catalina also reviews market trends for prefinished and engineered products, and increased demand for exotics and other niche products.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ACTIVITY Import data is included in order to evaluate the growing share of foreign-sourced wood flooring products. Import data is provided for softwood flooring; and maple, birch, and other hardwood flooring products. Import data is also provided for major countries of origin. Similar data is available for export shipments.

END-USE MARKET ANALYSIS The report’s end-use market analysis provides executives with the growing sales opportunities in residential, nonresidential, and transportation equipment markets. Residential markets are further divided into new construction, residential remodeling, and manufactured housing markets. The demographics of hard surface flooring residential replacement customers are discussed in order to target the most likely purchasers. Nonresidential markets are segmented into new construction and commercial contract purchasers. Installation revenues and costs are also evaluated. Retail distribution channels are analyzed to review the position of floor covering stores and home centers.

FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND AND DISTRIBUTION End-use market trends are correlated with U.S. housing demand, nonresidential construction spending, mortgage interest rates, and other economic indicators to uncover the factors affecting demand, and provide insights into the direction of domestic demand in 2003 and beyond. Catalina Research investigates the growing flooring retail channels as well.

PROFIT MARGINS AND THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT In addition, Catalina Research examined the cost structure and profitability of U.S. hardwood flooring plants. Data trends are compiled for material, labor, and capital inputs. As part of this analysis, Catalina profiled 36 leading North American manufactures and marketers, and compiled company wood flooring sales. Catalina used this information to calculate market shares of leading manufacturers. Company profiles cover product lines, manufacturing and distribution, capital investments, acquisitions, and new products. Executives are urged to review the growth- and profit-oriented strategies of leading North American and foreign-based wood flooring manufacturers and compare their company’s own performance to the industry averages.

CANADIAN AND EUROPEAN WOOD FLOORING INDUSTRY The Canadian wood flooring industry is also analyzed. Market sales are calculated from shipments, exports, and import data. This data was used to evaluate wood flooring’s share of the Canadian floor coverings market. Shipments are segmented for oak, maple, birch, and other hardwood floorings. Market shares and also calculated for the leading Canadian manufacturers. The European market was reviewed as well, including data on country markets and shares of the leading manufacturers.

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