Countertop Industry Affected by Low Cost Imports: Freedonia Analysis

Government Determines US Countertop Industry Has Been Injured by Low Cost Imports: A Potential Game Changer in the US Engineered Stone Countertop Industry

News provided by

The Freedonia Group

Jun 04, 2018, 03:25 ET

CLEVELAND, June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 31, 2018, the US International Trade Commission announced that it found reason to believe the US quartz countertop industry has been materially injured by imports of low cost Chinese imports being sold at less than fair value. As a result, the US Department of Commerce will continue its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, with a preliminary countervailing duty decision due on July 11, 2018 and a preliminary antidumping duty determination due on September 24, 2018.

China is a major source of quartz slab used in the fabrication of engineered stone countertops. "In 2017, the country accounted for about half of the total used in the US," reports Freedonia Group analyst Matthew Hurley. Since 2012, US imports of quartz slab have surged in response to the robust growth in the US engineered stone countertop market. "During this time," says Hurley, "Chinese producers have taken considerable market share away from the leading producers, which include Cambria, Cosentino, and Caesarstone."

A decade ago, engineered stone countertop demand was limited in the US, as the high price of these products limited their market penetration. However, over the last five years demand has risen nearly five-fold as distribution networks have expanded and prices have become more affordable for middle-income consumers.

According to Hurley, "If antidumping and countervailing duties are imposed as expected, this will have an immediate impact on average slab prices." Imports from China will become more expensive, and US demand will grow for quartz slabs produced by higher cost alternative sources of supply, including US plants, raising average price levels.

A rise in material costs will make engineered stone a less attractive alternative to competitive countertop products, especially among middle-income consumers, who have been a main source of market growth in recent years. "This will slow engineered stone countertop market growth in area terms to some degree," says Hurley.

Nevertheless, engineered stone is projected to remain the fastest growing countertop surface material through 2022, according to a recently published Freedonia Group Study written by Hurley.

For more information on the US countertop market, check out The Freedonia Group's Countertops Market in the US study.
https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/countertops-in-the-us-by-surface-material-product-market-and-region-5th-edition-3606.htm

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group