Demand initially benefited from a turnaround in new home construction as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to historic lows. Low interest rates also resulted in a sharp increase in existing home sales.
At the same time, government stimulus checks caused a surge in personal incomes with few places to spend the money outside of one’s home. As a result, residential improvement construction spending hit record highs.
In 2020, LVT sales were driven by the 39.3 percent increase in rigid core LVT sales in dollars, and a 50 percent gain in square feet sales.
Square foot sales benefited from a 7.7 percent drop in average selling prices. Prices weakened as average import prices declined. Foreign-made products have made significant inroads in the LVT sector since manufacturers in China and South Korea led the development of rigid core, waterproof, and click-installed LVT.
Chinese manufacturers accounted for about 59 percent of total U.S. resilient flooring sales in 2020.