TISE will take place as an in-person event in June at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas; the Biden administration defends the 25% Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports; an NKBA study shows continued growth for the kitchen/bath market in 2021; and much, much more.
This edition of Radio Stone Update is sponsored by Quantra, manufacturers of the world’s toughest, most beautiful quartz surfaces made with up-to-the-minute Italian technology… in yet another brand new state-of-the-art factory. http://www.quantra.in.
Radio Stone Update is presented on the first and third Wednesdays every month at 9 a.m. everywhere on Earth with the latest news and insights in hard surfaces. Check our archives at www.radiostoneupdate.com.
TISE will take place as an in-person event in June at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas; the Biden administration defends the 25% Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports; an NKBA study shows continued growth for the kitchen/bath market in 2021; and much, much more.
This edition of Radio Stone Update is sponsored by Quantra, manufacturers of the world’s toughest, most beautiful quartz surfaces made with up-to-the-minute Italian technology… in yet another brand new state-of-the-art factory. http://www.quantra.in.
Radio Stone Update is presented on the first and third Wednesdays every month at 9 a.m. everywhere on Earth with the latest news and insights in hard surfaces. Check our archives at www.radiostoneupdate.com.
K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest from Radio Stone Update
00:30
If you’ve wondered if in-person tradeshows would ever return, you can breathe a little easier. The international surface event – TISE –confirmed that it’s moving ahead with its June dates. The show will go on June 16-19 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Still, things won’t be quite the same as in years past. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak approved revised state guidelines earlier this month, but the show will have to conform with new guidelines for large-group settings. The guidelines include mandatory face masks and temperature checks for all participants.
Despite those restrictions, a survey taken by event producer and owner Informa Markets through a third-party provider shows that nearly nine out of ten respondents said they would likely attend the event and 98 percent viewed the decision as favorable to the industry.
Dana Hicks, the TISE show director says, “TISE knows doing business in the flooring, stone and tile industry requires experiencing the products first-hand and building relationships in a face-to-face environment. We are confident in our ability to execute a safe event .”
The in-person event includes Surfaces, StonExpo/Marmomac and Tile Expo. Registration will open at the end of this month.
01:56
Importers and their clients expecting tariff relief from the new Biden administration will have to hold on a little longer to learn what comes next. The administration has signaled that it’s willing to change the United States’ policies on tariffs, but only to a point. It’s standing its ground in federal court concerning challenges over nearly all-encompassing tariffs on Chinese goods.
The tariffs, now at 25 percent, were the centerpiece of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy in what became a trade war with China. Earlier this month, the U.S. government defended the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 tariffs on imports from China. The tariffs are being challenged by more than 3,600 U.S. companies.
A “master answer” filed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton with the U.U. Court of International Trade, contested the numerous arguments that the USTR acted beyond its authority and violated federal agency guidelines in setting Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods.
Included in the list of plaintiffs for the case are some well-known hard-surface industry importers, including Arizona Tile LLC, Dal-Tile Corporation and MS International. The individual lawsuits don’t cite specific monetary damages.
The Federal Court of International Trade decided in early February to assign all the cases to a three-judge panel. The U.S. Justice Department contends that the 301 tariffs and the USTR action are at the discretion of the president and not subject to agency guidelines. The department also argues that the action is exempt from federal-agency guidelines because it’s a “foreign affairs function” and the USTR followed federal agency informal rulemaking requirements anyway.
03:49
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. U.S. hard-surface imports in January barely wavered from the previous month, moving down by less than one percent from December 2020. The 383.5 million dollars in January shipments are well-above pre-pandemic levels, beating January 2020 levels by 23.3 percent.
Some of that large year-to-year gain comes from an unusual drop in quartz-surface imports early in 2020, when India and Turkey cut back shipments over concerns of possible large unfair-trade tariffs that finally ended up in the single digits. Both resumed high export levels to the U.S. – in fact, India led all countries in quartz-slab volume in January, sending 3.5 million square feet here. Vietnam is a distant second at 2.3 million square feet.
Marble imports continue to grow, with the nearly 71,000 metric tons sent to U.S. ports of entry in January marking an astounding 75 percent gain from the same time in 2020. Turkey provided nearly 55 percent of January’s marble imports.
You can catch up with all the January action in Hard-Surface Imports, the monthly magazine with the latest information available on what’s coming into the United States. Take a look today on the web at latest.hardsurfacereport.com.
05:22
K. SCHIPPER: There’s good news on the kitchen-and-bath-front. Industry sales continue rising after last year’s COVID-19 slowdown, and 2021 is forecast to be even better, according to a study by the National Kitchen & Bath Association – the NKBA – and John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
The study shows the fourth quarter Kitchen & Bath Market Index – the KMBI – grew 2 % from the third quarter and 4% year-over-year from fourth quarter 2019. Retail sales are experiencing even more impressive growth. Average sales were up just under 8% from last year, followed by manufacturing – up 5.5% – building/construction, which is up 3.8 %, and design, showing a 2.4% increase.
All indicators in the report have improved over the last several quarters, and the health of the industry – measured on a scale of 1 to 10 is at 7.1, or just below the pre-pandemic 7.2 registered in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Supply-chain disruption, cost of materials, concerns around keeping COVID-19 under control and availability of skilled labor are the top concerns of industry professionals, with more than half saying COVID-19 has worsened the pre-existing labor shortage.
Among the trends noted in the consumer study are homeowners undertaking larger projects, including expanding and rearranging floorplans; pandemic circumstances driving demand to 60% of kitchen and bath companies, with consumers beginning projects they planned while sheltering-in-place last year; and a higher demand for lower-priced products and finishes. The study also showed strong growth in retail sales at all price points, with demand exceeding supplies for manufacturers.
08:31
Integra Adhesive and SCIGRIP products are reducing their lead times for deliveries, according to parent company IPS Adhesives. Integra Adhesive brand products are returning to a two-week lead time on new orders. SCIGRIP bulk adhesives in drums and pails will be at a three-week lead time, while cartridges remain on a four-week lead time.
Both Integra and SCIGRIP lead times slowed in 2020 due to consolidation efforts between two facilities in North America. The operation and customer service teams worked diligently over the past 90 days to make internal changes to improve delivery times. IPS Adhesives is aware of several shortages and supply chain issues occurring in early 2021. The company has strategically procured ahead in key areas of raw materials to combat the problem.
IPS Adhesives is a leading provider of adhesives serving the surfaces, structural assembly and hoof health industries. The company operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in both North America and Europe, with a broad network of distributors serving countries worldwide.
In other news from around the industry ….
09:58
Princeton Chemical Company, the producers of Join.IT Surfacing Adhesives, adds Kevin Cole as the company’s sales and marketing manager. In his new role, Cole will assist in sales team leadership, develop and execute on-product branding strategies in the digital marketing place, and offer oversight relating to the company’s customer service strategies. Cole comes to Princeton after serving more than a dozen years as the International Surface Fabricators Association Director of Communications, as well as editor, publisher and sales manager of the ISFA’s “Countertops & Architectural Surfaces” magazine.
10:35
Ron Nash will be the new president of LATICRETE North America and assume his new duties July 1. Nash is currently the North American sales/marketing senior vice president and will succeed Ed Metcalf, who will leave LATICRETE by year’s end. Nash joined LATICRETE in 204 as a regional sales manager for the southwestern United States and has been responsible for all North American sales of the company’s products since 2017. Metcalf will serve as a special advisor to the company after July 1 to ensure a smooth transition.
11:14
Arizona Tile announces the opening of its newest facility, the Tempe Quartz Distribution Center. At 120,000 ft², it is the largest quartz slab facility in Arizona. The new facility, its adjacent slab outlet, plus the company’s existing Tempe location encompass 22 acres, and while much of the space will be used for storage, there is also space for tradeshows, sample board production and bulk stock of porcelain tile. The new facility joins two other recently opened Arizona Tile facilities in Jurupa Valley, Calif., and La Porte, Texas.
11:56
And, Caesarstone announces it is expanding its partnership with the International Surface Fabricators Association – the ISFA. The not-for-profit trade organization for fabricators is renewing its relationship with the quartz manufacturer by recommending its members take full advantage of Caesarstone’s “Master of Stone” training platform to address health and safety issues, including silica dust in the workplace. The free master of stone training, which launched last year, is a short series of online modules that provide a certificate upon completion, as well as offering helpful resources such as good practice guide, safety data sheet and more. For more information on the Master of Stone program, visit the Caesarstone website at www.caesarstoneus.com
For the latest in industry news, visit our online newsletter, Slab and Sheet. Also, keep an eye open for the upcoming March/April issue of our digital online magazine at magazine.stonemag.com. And, for the notes on this episode and a full transcript, go to the new Radio Stone Update website at www.radiostoneupdate.com.
I’m K. Schipper for Radio Stone Update and we’ll see you here again soon.