The average values of tile1 from the five countries (based on sq. ft.) from which the most tiles were imported in 2016 were: U.S. Shipments: U.S. ceramic tile shipments in 2016 increased for the seventh consecutive year and were at an all-time high of 909.0 million sq. ft., up 6.0% from 2015. In dollar value, domestic shipments (less exports) in 2016 were $1.35 billion, up 7.3% vs. 2015 ($1.26 billion).2 Exports: U.S. ceramic tile exports in 2016 were 36.2 million sq. ft., down 11.1% vs. 2015. The vast majority of these exports (in sq. ft.) were to our North American neighbors, Canada (62.8%) and Mexico (8.1%).3 Economic Highlights: New Home Starts: New home starts rose for the seventh consecutive year and were at their highest point since 2007. The 1.17 million units started in 2016 represented a 4.9% increase from the previous year. Even so there is still a long way to go to reach the prerecession peak level of 2.07 million units set in 2005.4 New Single Family Home Sales: New single family home sales increased for the fifth consecutive year and were at a total of 563,000 units in 2016, up 12.2% vs. 2015.5 While this recent growth is encouraging as the U.S. continues to put the recent recession behind, new home sales were still down 56.1% from the all-time high level of 1.28 million units reached in 2005. Foreclosures: Foreclosure filings, which are a key indicator of the U.S. housing market’s health, declined by 13.9% in 2016 to 933,000 units. This was the sixth consecutive year-over- year decline and the lowest annual foreclosure total since 2006.6 1 The average value is significantly affected by the mix of tiles imported, with different types of tiles impacting the average value, in addition to differ- ences in pricing for the same types of tile. 2 Tile Council of North America 3 U.S. Dept. of Commerce 4 U.S. Census Bureau 5 U.S. Census Bureau 6 RealtyTrac EDITOR'S LETTER –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Certified TileInstaller WANTTOBETHEBEST? TheCertifiedTileInstaller (CTI)programistheonly third-partyassessmentofa tileinstallationprofessional’s skillandknowledgethatis recognizedbythetileindustry. Visitourwebsiteandputyourself abovethecompetition. GETCERTIFIED! 864-222-2131 info@ceramictilefoundation.org www.ceramictilefoundation.org 16 TileLetter | May 2017