08192014 Second Quarter Department of Commerce Shipments

SHIPMENTS OF CARPET AND RUGS TO U.S. GROWS 12.44% IN FIRST HALF 2014
By Lissa Wyman

WASHINGTON, DC -- World-wide imports of carpets and rugs to the U.S. grew 12.44% in dollars in the first half of 2014 according to figures recently released by the  U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textile & Apparel. Including both wool and man-made fiber products, first half 2014 shipments amounted to $989.385 million compared to $879.906 million in first half of 2013.

Shipments of wool products amounted to $370.339 million in first half 2014, an increase of 13.61% compared to the $325.982 million  shipped  in first half 2013.

Shipments of man-made fiber carpets and rugs to the U.S. amounted to $619.046 million in the  first half of 2014, compared to $553.924 in the first half of 2013, an increase of 11.76%

The Department of Commerce does not break down figures of carpets and rugs made of cotton or other natural fibers.

Wool Carpet and Rug Shipments to U.S.

The top three wool carpet and rug shippers to the U.S. -- India, China and Pakistan -- accounted for nearly 72%% of all wool rugs and carpets brought into the U.S. in first half 2014, compared to 65% in the same period of 2013.

India, with $166.716 million in wool shipments,  accounted for  50% of all wool rugs and carpets shipped to the U.S. in the first half 2014 period, the same per centage as the first half of 2013 when India shipped $166.716 in wool carpets and rugs to the U.S. The increase was 11.14%

First half 2014 shipments of wool carpet and rugs from China increased 9.34% to $45.877 million or 12% of the total, compared to the $20.469 shipped in the first half of 2013,  accounting for 12.4% of the total.

Pakistan's  first half 2014 shipments of $34.046 million  in wool carpet and rugs increased 7.30% and accounted for 9.1% of the total for the period. In the first half of 2013, Pakistan's shipments of wool rugs and carpets to the U.S. amounted to $31.728 or  8.5% of the total.

Man-Made Fiber Carpet and Rug Shipments to U.S.

China, with $188.648 million in shipments in the first half of 2014, remained the largest exporter of man-made carpets and rugs into the U.S. in first half 2014. China 's 2013 first half shipments were $175.351 million, a gain of 7.58%compared to the first half of 2013. China  accounted for 30% of all shipments of man-made fiber carpets and rugs in the period..

In second place,  2014 first half shipments from Turkey grew 24.83% compared to the same period in 2013. Turkey accounted for $112.578 million in shipments of man-made carpets and rugs to the U.S., or  18.2% of the total In first half of 2014.

Egypt was in third place, with  $66.731 million in man-made fiber shipments in  first half 2014,  accounting for  10.8% of the total. In first half 2013, Egypt exported $71.119 million in man-made fiber carpets and rugs to the U.S, a decline of 6.17%.

Together, the top three countries shipped $367.957 million in man-made fiber carpets and rugs to the U.S. in the  first half of  2014,  accounting  for 59% of   total shipments to the U.S. in the first half of 2014.

India continues to grow dramatically as an exporter of man-mad fiber carpets and rugs to the U.S.,  Now in fifth position with $54.696 million in man-made carpet and rug shipments to the U.S. in first half 2014, India gained over 66% compared to 2013's first half shipments of $32.936 million. India's market share amounted to nearly 9% of the total.

As India continues to make improvements in its infrastructure and the development of a reliable electrical grid, the Indian carpet making industry is adding power looms as well as adding man-made carpet and rug fiber extrusion.

 To view the full Commerce Department report on wool carpet and rug shipments to the U.S., click here.
For  man made fiber carpets and rugs, click here.