A Significant Trade Deficit Remains, but Imports Are Still Failing to Reach Pre-Crisis Levels

The U.S. dominates in global imports of wood office furniture, accounting for a 26% share (based on USD). It was distantly followed by Germany (5%), Saudi Arabia (5%), and France (5%). In 2015, U.S. wood office furniture imports totaled 963 million USD, which was an increase of 61 million USD (+7%) from the year before.

From 2007 to 2015, U.S. wood office furniture imports showed mixed dynamics. A significant drop in 2009 was followed by recovery growth over the next few years. After the low of 2009, there was an annual increase of +5.6% from 2010 to 2015.

Despite a considerable increase, U.S. imports are still in the recovery phase. They have to grow another 10% in order to reach the pre-recession level of 2007.

The U.S. continues to be one of the most attractive destinations for overseas suppliers. Canada and China were the main suppliers of wood office furniture into the U.S., with a combined share of 71% of total U.S. imports in 2015. However, Mexico (+9.7% per year) and Viet Nam (+19.7% per year) were the fastest growing suppliers from 2007 to 2015, ranked third and fourth in the import structure, respectively. Mexico and Viet Nam strengthened their positions in the U.S. import structure. Meanwhile, Canada remained relatively stable, and China saw its share reduced from 37% in 2007 to 28% in 2015.

The U.S. was a net importer of wood office furniture from 2007 to 2015. Moreover, imports grew faster than exports on average over the period under review. In 2015, U.S. wood office furniture ran a trade deficit of 807 million USD, a figure that has bounced back to the level of 2008 after several fluctuations in recent years.

Source: U.S. Wood Office Furniture Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2020