Imports: In 2016, 1.99 billion sq. ft. of ceramic tile arrived in the U.S., up 5.7% from 2015 (1.88 billion sq. ft.). Imports in 2016 made up 68.6% of U.S. tile consumption (in sq. ft.), down slightly from 68.7% the previous year. According to the Department of Commerce, in 2016 China remained the largest exporter to the U.S. (in sq. ft.) with a 29.4% share of U.S. imports (in sq. ft.), followed by Mexico (23.4%) and Italy (19.4%). Spain and Turkey rounded out the top five with a 9.3% and 5.1% share of imports, respectively. The five countries from which the most tiles were imported in 2016 based on sq. ft. were: Italy remained the largest exporter to the U.S. on a dollar basis (including duty, freight, and insurance) in 2016, comprising 35.8% of U.S. imports. China was second with a 24.7% share, and Mexico was third with a 12.6% share. The five countries from which the most tiles were imported in 2016 based on total U.S. $ value (including duty, freight, and insurance) were: EDITOR'S LETTER –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Total Val Total Val 2016/2015 2015/2014 Country 2016 (in $) 2015 (in $) % Change % Change Italy 751,114,262 695,055,435 8.1% 9.5% China 518,147,970 521,010,646 -0.5% 11.0% Mexico 265,221,959 287,867,792 -7.9% -4.3% Spain 245,640,675 194,031,273 26.6% 20.1% Turkey 107,800.576 93,315,611 13.1% 19.5% All Countries 2,099,383,040 2,006,173,353 4.6% 10.1% 14 TileLetter | May 2017