U.S. manufacturers remain highly competitive in the U.S. furniture market because they have implemented strategies that capitalize on their proximity to the market, production and distribution technologies, and top quality design, says the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its report Industry and Trade Summary: Furniture and Motor Vehicle Seats.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, recently released the report as part of an ongoing series of reports on thousands of products imported into and exported from the United States. Following are highlights from the report:

• Fully assembled mid- to upper-priced household furniture accounts for the largest portion of the U.S. furniture market. High transportation costs for such furniture constrain U.S. imports. U.S. manufacturers are cost efficient producers of top quality household furniture and are the industry leaders in the production and design of motor vehicle seats and systems office furniture.

• NAFTA-partner trade in motor vehicle seats has increased significantly because of the integration of the North American automotive sector, growing investments in auto assembly plants in the United States and Mexico by Japanese and German producers, and the introduction of modular assembly for the interiors of automobiles.

• Furniture manufacturers and their dealer networks have overcome initial resistence to e-commerce and now embrace that marketing strategy to avoid losing business to competing virtual retailers. "Clicks and mortar" are emerging as an internet strategy.

• Canada is the principal source of U.S. imports of furniture, followed by China, Mexico, Italy, and Taiwan. The bulk of U.S. imports from China are low- to mid-priced, wood household furniture and parts, especially ready-to-assemble furniture, that can be cost-efficiently shipped.

• East Asian producers have opened assembly/production facilities in the United States for mid- to upper-priced, fully assembled wood household furniture. Higher profit margins in this U.S. market segment are driving this strategy, although the lower-priced segment remains dominated by imports from East Asian manufacturers.

• Canada's close proximity to U.S. manufacturing locations makes it by far the leading foreign market for U.S.-made household and office furniture. Parts of motor vehicle seats shipped to Canada and Mexico for assembly into finished seats or seat covers account for the largest portion of U.S. exports.

• High transportation costs for fully assembled furniture greatly reduces the cost competitiveness of U.S. furniture in other markets. To service more distant markets, several U.S. producers of office furniture and a few U.S. household furniture manufacturers have established fabrication facilities in Europe and Asia.

ITC Industry and Trade Summary reports include information on product uses, U.S. and foreign producers, and customs treatment of the products being studied; they analyze the basic factors affecting trends in consumption, production, and trade of the commodities, as well as factors bearing on the competitiveness of the U.S. industry in domestic and foreign markets.

Industry and Trade Summary: Furniture and Motor Vehicle Seats (USITC Publication No. 3382, January 2001) will be available on the ITC Internet web site at www.usitc.gov. A printed copy may be ordered without charge by calling 202-205-1809, or by writing the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be faxed to 202-205-2104.