World demand for flooring and carpets is projected to climb 2.5 percent annually through 2012 to 14.6 billion square meters, valued at more than $150 billion. Product demand will be stimulated by growth in nonresidential building construction and ongoing industrialization efforts in less developed parts of the world. China will record the largest gains of any country and will expand its lead as the biggest floor covering market in the world. Sales growth is also expected to be strong in India, as well as in lower volume markets such as Indonesia, Turkey, Iran, the Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. Flooring and carpet demand in developed parts of the world will rise as well, although the pace of increase will be less robust than in developing countries. Product sales in Western Europe will be nearly flat through 2012, while floor covering demand in Japan will increase marginally following an extended period of decline. Market gains in these areas will be restrained by unspectacular economic growth and the general maturity of the markets. In the US, flooring and carpet sales will be spurred by increases in nonresidential construction and motor vehicle production. Non-resilient flooring (e.g., ceramic, wood, laminate) is by far the most popular type of floor covering worldwide, and demand will outpace that for both resilient flooring (which includes vinyl, linoleum and rubber products) and carpet and rugs through 2012. Non-resilient flooring demand will be driven by the products' durability and ease of maintenance, and supported by growing consumer preference for high-end and natural hard surface flooring products as income levels climb. Suppliers of carpets and rugs, the second most widely used type of floor covering, will benefit from growth in building construction expenditures in Western Europe, rising construction activity in other parts of the world and, to a lesser extent, growth in global motor vehicle production. Demand for resilient flooring, which accounts for the remainder of floor covering sales, will be stimulated by its comparatively low cost, as well as by favorable performance characteristics such as high underfoot comfort, noise absorption, durability and wear resistance. Residential building applications will continue to dominate overall flooring and carpet demand through 2012, although gains will be limited by a deceleration in residential building construction spending in a number of parts of the world. Demand for flooring and carpets used in nonresidential buildings, the second largest market segment, will outpace total floor covering sales, fueled by continued growth in nonresidential building construction expenditures in Western Europe, Latin America and the Africa/ Mideast region, and supported by renewed strength in the US market and a modest recovery in Japan following a period of extreme sluggishness. Consumption of flooring and carpets used in transportation equipment and all other applications will be spurred by growth in global motor vehicle production, with increased spending for nonbuilding structures and industrial equipment also contributing to future market gains. __
