world news - 27.11.2002

USA: imports of furniture will rise, analyst says

Imports of foreign furniture will continue to increase and U.S. manufacturers need to adapt to that reality, furniture analyst Jerry Epperson said yesterday.

Speaking at a forum about the international furniture market, Epperson said that 43 percent of all wood products sold in the United States last year were imports, with about half coming from Asia. Of this, two-thirds came from China.

"This year, the number will be higher," said Epperson, who estimates that imports from China will account for 60 percent of wood products sold in the United States in 2002.

He said that U.S. manufacturers are wrong to believe that their Chinese counterparts are not as efficient as they are.

"They are really working twice as fast as we are," he said. Journalnow

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