2024 Top 100 Importers & Exporters
Household goods
IMPORTS
4,415,890 TEUs
↓15.9 %
Change from 2022
↑2.5 %
5-year compound annual growth rate
American Furniture Warehouse
Ashley Furniture Best Choice Products
Bob ’ s Discount Furniture
Casart JOANN Living Spaces Furniture
Raymour & Flanigan Furniture
Restoration Hardware Rooms to Go Yaheetech the first half , but those hopes are fading rapidly .
Single-family housing starts across the US dropped 12.4 % in March , after rising 35.2 % in February , according to the US Census Bureau . That drop was propelled by a 7.1 % increase in 30-year mortgage rates that pushed long-term mortgage rates , which had come down in early 2024 , back up to levels reached last fall .
Existing home sales fell 4.3 % in March from February , according to data from the National Association of Realtors .
“ Tight inventory is still a key barrier to home sale volumes ,” mortgage financer Freddie Mac said April 18 . “ Purchase demand is improving , but with mortgage rates still averaging 6.8 %, many prospective homebuyers are being priced out of the housing market .”
Consumers aren ’ t just buying fewer homes , they ’ re spending less on remodeling and redecorating their current homes , according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity ( LIRA ) from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University .
Lower remodeling activity also reduces demand for containerized HHG imports .
As of April , the LIRA projects the annual decline in homeowner spending for renovations and maintenance will accelerate to 7.4 % in the third quarter of this year before easing to a 2.6 % year-over-year decline in the first quarter of 2025 .
That could lead to more orders of home construction products and appliances heading into the new year .
“ Residential remodeling is expected to benefit from the rebounding housing market and stabilizing material costs as we move into next year ,” said Carlos Martín , director of the remodeling futures program at the housing studies center at Harvard University .
“ While home improvement and repair spending is down from pandemic-induced highs , the nation ’ s aging
US HHG imports bouncing back in early 2024
Monthly containerized US household goods ( HHG ) imports , in laden TEUs , with yearover-year percentage change
TEU volume
500,000 470,375 20 %
400,000
300,000 100,000
200,000
100,000
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
Jan L2022
Apr
|
Jul |
Oct
Jan 2023
Apr
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Jul |
Oct
Jan , 2024 24
Apr
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Source : PIERS , S & P Global
TEU Year-over-year % change
0 % 100 %
-20 %
-40 %
Year-over-year % change
© 2024 S & P Global homes continue to need investment in critical replacements , home performance deficiencies , as well as modernization ,” Martín said .
‘ Strong ’ fundamentals
Although HHG imports rebounded in the first quarter of 2024 , rising 27.9 % year over year through March , they were still down 18.1 % from the same three-month period of 2022 , according to PIERS , and household goods retailers have adjusted supply chains to compensate .
“ We ’ ve eliminated a lot of fixed costs , closing two [ distribution ] hubs last year ,” W . Michael Madden , executive vice president and CFO of Kirkland ’ s Home , said during a March 21 earnings call .
“ We ’ ve revised our parcel contract , so that ’ s helping us on the e-commerce side ,” Madden said . In addition to lower inventories , “ we ’ re doing a really good job of managing routes to our stores and kind of cutting them back where needed ,” he said .
“ With mortgage rates averaging 6.8 %, many prospective homebuyers are being priced out of the housing market .”
Still , retailer confidence is high , as evidenced by their investment in additional real estate — i . e ., how many stores or distribution centers retailers might open in the short or long-term .
The Home Depot , the second-largest US importer in 2023 , according to the Journal of Commerce rankings , plans to open 12 stores in 2024 and 80 stores over the next five years . The Atlanta-based home improvement and HHG retailer also expects to fulfill more large orders directly from its distribution centers .
“ The underpinning of this market segment remains incredibly strong ,” CEO Edward Decker said during an earnings call Feb . 20 .
Marvin R . Ellison , president , CEO and chairman of Lowe ’ s Companies , No . 3 on the Top 100 Importers list , agreed with Decker ’ s optimistic assessment of the underlying fundamentals for HHG and home furnishings .
“ The core demand drivers of our business — disposable personal income , home price appreciation and the age of housing stock — remain supportive ,” Ellison said in a Feb . 27 call . “ When you pair these factors with trends like chronic undersupply of homes , millennial household formation , baby boomers aging in place and a sustained number of people working from home , you can see why we are confident that home improvement demand will trend upwards over time .”
That should continue to boost HHG imports in 2024 , though they likely will not reach the highs seen during the pandemic until 2025 at the earliest .
email : bill . cassidy @ spglobal . com
38 Journal of Commerce | May 20 , 2024 www . joc . com