World furniture consumption reached US$455b in 2014, with an increase of about $17b over 2013. The expected rate of growth of furniture consumption for 2015 is +2.8% in real terms, a calculation is based on CSIL's processing of data from official sources, both national and international, that cover the 70 most important countries.

For 2016, the growth of furniture demand worldwide is also forecast at +2.8% in real terms. A summary of forecasts for furniture consumption in the 70 monitored countries (grouped by geographical region) is shown in the chart below.

The leading furniture importers on a world scale are the US, Germany, France, the UK and Canada. In the last five years the increase of furniture imports in the US (from $19b in 2009 to about $32b in 2015) was the main engine of growth in the international trade of furniture.

The world's main furniture exporting countries are China, followed at a distance by Germany, Italy, Poland and Vietnam. In 2014, for the first time in many years, Chinese exports were stagnant. The fastest-growing furniture exporter (from a low base) was Vietnam.

The ratio between imports and consumption rose from 29.3% in 2005 to 30.2% in 2008, decreased to 27.2% in 2009 and remained below the pre-recession maximum thereafter. In essence, the bulk of international trade of furniture originates in China, Germany, Italy, Poland and Vietnam and goes to the US, Germany, France, the UK and Canada.

The World Furniture Outlook report assumes that the international scenario will see the world's GDP increase annually by percentage in real terms as such – 3.1% in 2015, 3.6% in 2016 and 3.8% in 2017.

It predicts that the world's advanced economies will develop at a rate of 2%, 2.2% and a further 2.2% across those years, and 4%, 4.5% and 4.9% in the emerging and developing economies.

In the last 10 years world trade of furniture (defined as the average between total furniture exports from the 70 major countries and total furniture imports into the 70 major countries) has grown faster than furniture production, and has consistently amounted to about 1% of world trade of manufactures.

(source: furniturenews)