The consumption of ceramic tiles in the last two decades has experienced asignificant increase in the United States. Despite the sub-prime crisis happened few years ago, this sector presents wide growth opportunities, considering that the U.S. economy since 2010 has shown significant signs of recovery. The U.S. consumer now looks more at the quality and aesthetics of ceramic tiles, compared to price or other materials. Traditionally, the United States are a ceramic tile importer. According to recent data published by the ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade), in 2009 only 14% of the consumption of ceramic tiles corresponded to local production, while no less than 86% came from abroad. Among the top 5 exporting countries, that represent almost 86% of total imports, Italy has got a market share of 36% (although in 2008 it reached 42%), followed by Mexico (20%), China (16%), Spain and Brazil. The latest data, referred to the first six months of 2010, reported an increase in imports of 11% compared to June 2009: this data show an improvement of Italian exports and the great success of Chinese, Thai and Turkish exports.
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