Carpet & Rug Manufacturing Industry Overview

Excerpt from Carpet & Rug Manufacturing Report

Companies in this industry manufacture woven, tufted, and other types of rugs and carpet using natural and synthetic fibers. Major companies include Shaw Industries, Mohawk Industries, and Beaulieu Group (US); Balta (Belgium); Cavalier (New Zealand); Haima Carpet (China); Oriental Weavers (Egypt); Suminoe Textile (Japan); and Victoria Carpets (UK).

Competitive Landscape

Demand for carpeting depends on residential and commercial real estate construction and home sales, which can be cyclical. With many costs fixed, profitability of individual companies depends on their volume of business. There are large economies of scale in manufacturing and distribution. The US industry is concentrated: the four largest companies account for about 60 percent of revenue.

Products, Operations & Technology

Most carpeting is made on large tufting machines that use rows of needles to sew loops of nylon thread into a latex "backing." The loops are cut to produce tufts and additional backing is glued on to the bottom to hold the tufts in place; polypropylene and polyester thread are also used. Rugs and woven carpeting are made on looms using wool, cotton, silk, or synthetic thread. Most carpeting is made as 100-foot rolls ("roll goods") of various widths - mainly 12 or 15 feet ("broadloom") - but modular carpet tiles also are made.