Furniture Today,
Globalization now impacts all product groups HIGH POINT — It’s a small world after all — the title of this Disney song could just as well be the theme of the U.S. furniture industry in the new millennium. 

Between 1992 and 2013, imports of furniture and bedding grew by a whopping 479%. During the same period, retail furniture and bedding sales grew by 117%. It’s not hard to figure out that a larger and larger amount of furniture bought by consumers was produced outside of the United States. 


The exact percentages are hard to come by because of the way the U.S. government keeps its figures. Once any work is done on the furniture in the United States, from adding cushioning and fabric to a frame or simply screwing on legs to a table, value has been added, so those products are also counted as domestic shipments. 

Using a complicated formula, Jerry Epperson of Mann, Armistead & Epperson estimates imports made up 42% of the total household market in 2013, up from 30% in 2000. 

Finished wood imports grew by 481% between 1992 and 2013, from $1.7 billion at landed value, to $9.8 billion last year. According to Epperson, imports made up 51% of the wood furniture market in 2013. Within the broader category, bedroom imports grew by 939% and kitchen and dining furniture grew by 403% during the same time period.