editor:Jessie　

　　U.S. imports of wooden bedroom furniture by dollar value have increased for four consecutive quarters, driven by an ongoing recovery in the real estate market and falling national unemployment numbers, and are expected to continue growing, according to JOC Economist Mario Moreno’s latest JOC Insights report.

　　The report showed U.S. imports of wooden bedroom furniture by dollar value were up 4.5 percent and 8.8 percent year-over-year in the third and fourth quarters of 2013, respectively, and up 4.6 percent and 8.8 percent in the first and second quarters of 2014.

　　The furniture imports are forecast to expand 4.5 percent in the full year of 2014, on top of last year’s 3.2 percent growth, and to total $3 billion. If current trends continue, Moreno said he expects furniture imports to rise again in 2015 by 3.6 percent.

　　“As demand for real estate goes up, demand for furniture imports tends to increase as well,” Moreno said in his report. “Nonetheless, it is yet to be seen whether the imminent rise of interest rates by the middle of next year will have a significant impact over the real estate market, and more importantly, the home sales market, with indirect effects over the demand for furniture imports.”

　　Housing starts were up 8.1 percent year-over-year from January through August, and new homes sales rose 2.4 percent, according to the September Insights report. In addition, the national unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent in September, the lowest level since July 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

　　The Port of Los Angeles handled the most U.S. imports of wooden bedroom furniture from January to August, with a share of 26 percent.

　　Year-to-date, the Port of Los Angeles handled the most U.S. imports of wooden bedroom furniture, with a share of 26 percent, followed by the Port of Long Beach with 15 percent and the Port of New York-New Jersey with 14 percent, according to the report.

　　Vietnam, the largest supplier for U.S. wooden bedroom furniture imports, saw its share of the market rise in the first seven months of 2014, Moreno reported. As measured by dollar value, Vietnam’s U.S. wooden furniture imports accounted for 43.8 percent of the market year-to-date through July, up from 41.8 percent in 2013. Imports from Vietnam were up 8.0 percent year-over-year from January through July.

　　China followed far behind with a sourcing share of just 14.0 percent year-to-date, down from 15.7 percent in 2013. Imports from China were down 9.0 percent year-over-year from January to July.

　　Vietnam topped China as the No. 1 source country for U.S. wooden furniture imports back in 2009, helped by anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese furniture a few years before, according to Moreno.

　　“Given the rising manufacturing costs in China, it is likely the U.S. furniture inbound trade from China will continue its downward trend,” he said.

　　In terms of containerized furniture imports into the U.S., China was the No. 1 source country in the first half of 2014, accounting for 70.7 percent of the total, followed by Vietnam with a share of 10.2 percent, according to PIERS, the data division of JOC Group Inc.

　　Malaysia was the No. 3 source country with a share of U.S. wooden furniture imports by dollar value of 12.4 percent in the first seven months of 2014, rising from 10.9 percent in 2013, followed by Indonesia with a share of 7.3 percent, which was relatively stable.

　　Notably, Poland, the No. 5 source country for U.S. wooden furniture imports by dollar value, has regained its sourcing share over the last two years, going from 2.7 percent of the market in 2012 to 4.7 percent in 2014 ― where it was back in 2011.

　　(JOC.COM)