Sales grew by 9% in Q1 2021 (+7% compared to 2019). Italian sales were up 19%, exports 7.3%. Business leaders are concerned about sharp rises in the costs of energy, finished product packaging and sea freight to the USA.

The sanitaryware, tableware and refractory sectors experienced a sharp decline in both production volumes and turnover in 2020. The brick and roof tile sector proved more resilient.

In 2020 total ceramic tile sales in the USA were down 3.5% to 263.6 million sq.m. While domestically produced tile continued to grow, imports were the most damaged, decreasing by 5.3% to 183 million sq.m

Clear improvement in sales of ceramic machinery and equipment: according to the Mecs-Acimac research centre, the first quarter of 2021 closed with 33.3% growth in sales. Strong performance in both exports (+38%) and the Italian market (+27.3%)

Preliminary estimates point to 2020 sales of between -1% and +2% of the 2019 figure thanks to exports to the USA, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Acimac Research Dept. / MECS updates the yearly analysis of the world ceramic sanitaryware imports/exports flows. In 2019 sanitaryware exports continued to rise with 4.6% growth on 2018, but with a different trend in the various geographical areas of production.

Roca, Kohler, Geberit and Toto lead the rankings of the world ceramic sanitaryware manufacturers by volumes of production in 2019. See who is next.

Mohawk Industries, SCG and Lamosa lead once again the rankings. Victoria PLC is the new entry among the big names. For most of the big groups the outlook for 2020 is not overly pessimistic, with declines below -10% and even some players anticipating growth.

Acimac Research Dept. / MECS anticipates to Ceramic World Review the key figures of the 8th edition of the annual report “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles”