The Spanish tile industry is still enjoying strong growth, and consolidating its position as one of the sector’s top players worldwide.
According to “World Production and Consumption of Ceramic Tiles”, a report published by the Acimac Studies Centre, Spain remained in fourth place in the world rankings of tile manufacturing countries in 2016, by quantity, with output of 492 million sq.m (table 1), up 11.8% on the previous year. The result puts Spain’s production back up to the levels achieved in 2008, although it remains a long way short of the peak reached in 2005, when the country’s tile output reached 609 million sq.m.
According to data published by ASCER (the Spanish tile manufacturers’ association), 2016 also saw growth in total revenues from sales of Spanish tiles, to over 3.3 billion euros, representing an increase of 7.1% or 200 million euros on 2015.
Exports account for almost 80% of the industry’s total revenues, and export volumes reached 395 million sq.m in 2016, up 4.5% on 2015, equating to an additional 17 million sq.m (table 1). This is more modest than the double-digit rise reported in 2015, but nonetheless confirms the good health of the industry, with values well above the pre-crisis levels of 2015, when tile exports by volume amounted to 340 million sq.m. Spanish tile exports by value reached 2,569 million euros in 2016, up almost 5% on 2015 (table 2). In the world rankings, Spain is still the second largest exporter, after China (with exports of 1,025 million sq.m, down 5.9% on 2015) and ahead of Italy (332 million sq.m, up 5.1%).
2016 also saw a year-on-year rise of 13.2% in internal tile consumption, to a total of 137 million sq.m. This is the country’s best performance since 2010, although less impressive than its performance on the production and export fronts, as it still falls a long way short of pre-crisis levels (internal tile consumption reached 318 million sq.m in 2006). According to ASCER’s initial data for 2017, internal sales growth has continued into the current year, with an increase of 11% in the period January to September.
Exports in the first nine months of 2017
ASCER’s initial data for 2017 confirm the strong performance shown by exports, which rose by 5.4% in the first nine months of the year, equating to a 106 million euro increase in export sales to a total of 2,066 million (table 3).
Read the whole article on Tile International 3/2017
