2026 Top 100 Importers & Exporters

Weak housing fundamentals flatten US household goods demand

By Ari Ashe

Persistent weakness in home sales and uneven market in which consumers are choosing smaller maintenance and repair projects and delaying large discretionary purchases are taking their toll on US household goods demand, according to home builders and home improvement and furniture retailers.

Containerized imports of furniture, appliances and home decor slipped 1.3 % in 2025 and another 3.3 % in the first quarter of 2026, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global.

The compound annual growth rate of 3.4 % in the last five years belies a volatile market. Household goods imports jumped 25 % year over year in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, then declined 5.8 % in 2022 and 16.1 % in 2023, before rebounding 21.2 % in 2024.

“ A typical home sale generates about $ 134,000 in economic activity, and a part of that is tied to furniture, appliances and home-related goods.”

While China remained the largest origin for US household goods imports, its share fell to 49.9 % last year from 55.4 % in 2024 amid higher US import tariffs on Chinese goods. As shippers looked for alternative sourcing, Vietnam increased its share to 23.9 % from 20.3 % the prior year. Volume was approximately flat year over year at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York and New Jersey, and Savannah.

The data points to a sector struggling with underlying housing fundamentals.

Industrial production of household appliances fell 8.5 % year over year in February, according to the US Federal Reserve. The biggest culprit is a continued imbalance between homebuyers and home inventory.

“ A typical home sale generates about $ 134,000 in economic activity, and a part of that is tied to furniture, appliances and home-related goods,” Nadia Evangelou, principal economist for the National Association of Realtors( NAR), told the Journal of Commerce.

However, existing home sales dropped 1.4 % year over year in February, while housing inventory grew 4.9 %

Household goods

IMPORTS

5,272,116 TEUs

↓1.3 %

Change from 2024

↑3.4 %

5-year compound annual growth rate during the same period, according to NAR. New home construction, or“ housing starts,” rose 9.2 % year over year in January, according to the US Census Bureau, meaning there is even more inventory coming.

Evangelou said existing home sales should improve through the year, which will gradually increase demand for household goods, but it will also be a slow process that might drag into 2027.

“ It’ s very hard to predict how housing will play out,” Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah said during the company’ s fourth-quarter earnings call.“ Every quarter that goes by, the percentage of mortgages that get refinanced at the current rates keeps ticking up, but it’ s a relatively slow process.”

Jason Miller, an associate professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told the Journal of Commerce that this uncertainty is not good for freight volume, with the current“ slow burn” suggesting household goods volumes stabilizing below 2017 – 19 levels, which“ isn’ t pointing towards a slow recovery.”

HHG imports snap six-month yoy decline in March

Containerized US household goods( HHG) imports, in laden TEUs, with year-over-year change

TEU volume

400,000

300,000 100,000

0,000

200,000 000

100,000

Source: PIERS, S & P Global

20 %

-100 %%

TEU Year-over-year % change

0 %

-10 %

Year-over-year % change

© 2026 S & P Global

30 Journal of Commerce | May 4, 2026 www. joc. com