CSIL Research Reports, the Center for Light Industry Studies, are designed to meet a variety of research needs, offering detailed analyses of the furniture and lighting sectors in the world's major markets. Recent releases include the “Top 200 Furniture Manufacturers Worldwide” Report, the result of CSIL's extensive research work to identify and compare the world's largest furniture manufacturers; “The World Office Furniture Industry,” which indicates the outlook for the office furniture industry; and “Lighting: World Market Outlook for LEDs and Lighting Fixtures,” which finds that the world lighting market will recover in 2025 and experience higher growth rates from 2026, globally.

Altri due Rapporti Csil molto interessanti, recentemente pubblicati, sono “The Furniture Industry in Europe” e il “World Furniture Outlook 2025” che qui analizziamo. 

The Furniture Industry in Europe

The CSIL Report 'The Furniture Industry in Europe' (in English) offers useful statistics and indicators for analyzing the European furniture industry: historical trends, market potential and forecasts, data by segment, factors influencing competitiveness, major manufacturing companies with more than 2,400 brief profiles. 

The Report confirms that Europe maintains a key role in the global furniture industry, in terms of production, consumption and international trade.

With a value of about 106 billion euros (more than a quarter of the global market), Europe is in fact the second largest furniture market in the world, playing a key role in terms of production, market size, and global furniture trade. Despite the difficulties experienced in 2023-2024, the sector has shown resilience, staying above pre-pandemic levels thanks to a high degree of market integration and concentration. Dominated by large retail chains and manufacturers active on a European scale, the market benefits from strong internal cohesion and a structured commercial network. This solidity not only ensures its stability, but also encourages significant concentration of export and import flows within the region. Europe also continues to distinguish itself by an openness to global markets, confirming a proactive role in international trade.

The CSIL Report estimates stagnant demand for furniture in 2025, with signs of gradual recovery in the medium term.

World Furniture Outlook 2025 

CSIL's flagship publication, the World Furniture Outlook 2025 Report, now in its 26th edition, provides an overview of global furniture industry trends for an analysis of the current state and forecast of the world furniture market. This English-language research, published twice a year (in July and November), analyzes the furniture industry with data on global market trends, time series of basic data (production, consumption, imports, furniture exports from 2015 to 2024), macroeconomic indicators, and market outlook for the years 2025 and 2026, highlighting dynamics by area and providing data for 100 countries.

Evolving future prospects

The latest edition of the CSIL “World Furniture Outlook” Report confirms the difficulties the global furniture sector is facing. Although preliminary CSIL data for 2024 show a slight increase in international furniture trade, the future outlook, however, is negatively affected by the protectionist agenda of the new U.S. administration.

Global furniture production in 2024 amounts to US$471 billion, the same as in 2023, below 2022. Although there has been a gradual improvement in supply chain operations and pricing dynamics within the industry, the situation is still far from being fully normalized. The geopolitical climate continues to create considerable uncertainty on the global stage.

In 2024, China remained the leading furniture producer and exporter, accounting for more than one-third of total exports, followed at a distance by Vietnam, Poland, Italy and Germany.

The main importers of furniture are the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. These countries together account for nearly half of total imports.

After declining in 2023, preliminary data for 2024 show a modest increase in furniture imports in the United States, while the trend in European countries has not yet shifted to greater consumption and imports as the economic and social outlook remains uncertain.

Near-sourcing policies

A considerable percentage of international furniture trade is conducted within the economic regions into which the world economy can be divided. In the European Union (27) plus the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, about three-quarters of foreign trade in furniture takes place within the same region, while there are smaller, but increasing, percentages of trade within Asia and North America. Overall, trade within regions amounts to about 60 percent of world furniture trade, up from recent years. This is possible due to the emergence of near-sourcing policies, and if protectionist measures are introduced, this trend could become even more pronounced.

Downward-oriented forecast

The CSIL Report “World Furniture Outlook 2025” forecasts world GDP growth to be 3.2 in both 2024 and 2025 and 3.3 in 2026, with emerging and developing economies growing much faster than advanced economies. Downside risks stem from concerns about an escalation of regional conflicts, a possible further slowdown in China's economic growth, growing geopolitical tensions, and uncertainties in economic policy decisions, with the potential increase in protectionist measures. Overall, the many challenges, impacting global economies, have negatively affected the furniture sector, affecting both international trade and local markets. Furniture consumption is expected to increase by 1.4 percent in 2025 in real terms, although these forecasts are skewed substantially downward due to the problems we have mentioned.