search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
    • Carpet & Area Rugs
    • Hardwood
    • Installation Products
    • Installation Tools & Equipment
    • Laminate
    • Resilient
    • Specialty
    • Tile & Stone
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
    • Commercial
    • Residential
  • AWARDS
    • Installation Awards
    • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
    • Continuing Education
    • Webinars
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
    • FLOOR Podcast
    • Videos
    • TISE 2025 Videos
    • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP
Breaking Flooring NewsCommercial Flooring

Commercial Flooring Forecast Down 15-20% in First Half

J&J Flooring Legend LVT
Legend LVT by J+J Flooring is a popular product among Fuse Alliance members.
March 4, 2021

James Lesslie, commercial president, J&J Floors and EF Contract, said he anticipates commercial business to be down 15-20% in the first half of 2021.

Speaking to members of the Fuse Alliance at their virtual annual meeting, Lesslie said for the full year 2020, commercial flooring was down 18-22%.

"The one thing you should remember about 2020 is that there is no longer a national economy. We have regional economies. Those differences are as large and as great as I have seen them in my 35 years in the business."

Carpet and LVT categories commercially were down 18-22%. Carpet was 23-28% down.

"LVT—this is a harder number to get to—was probably 5 to 10% up. A lot of LVT for commercial comes from Korea, and we see  residential numbers showing 20 to 25% up for LVT. COVID-19 has helped residential and hurt commercial," Lesslie said. "That was the story of last year."

Full year 2020, the flooring industry 18-22% down for commercial flooring. The fourth quarter was about the same run rate. We were hoping to sed an improvement in the fourth quarter but didn’t happen. Carpet and LVT down 18-22% Carpet was 23-28% down. LVT—this is a harder number to get to—was probably 5 to 10% up. A lot of LVT for commercial comes from Korea, and we see  residential numbers showing 20 to 25% up for LVT. COVID-19 has helped residential and hurt commercial. That was the story of last year.

Lesslie forecasts the first quarter of 2021 will be down 15-20% and the mega storm in February did not help business. For second quarter, incorporating normal second-quarter seasonality, he projects commercial flooring to be up 18 to 20%. The first six months of 2021 will be down 15% compared to pre-COVID-19 2021. 

Freight continues to be a problem, he said. China continues to take containers and more ocean ships are getting pulled out for service to address new environmental regulations. Ports are backed: there is not enough labor to get the ships unloaded because of coronavirus issue and social distancing. Driver shortages also continue to worsen.

“On land freight, if you were expecting delivery normally, I’d pad most of my planning for a week," he advised. 

All that said, Lesslie encouraged Fuse members that they can take share, even in down markets. "I know that because we did," Lesslie said. "We took more share in 12 months than we did in the prior 24. We grew our business versus our competitors. We did it with service, quality—those are the things you can use to drive and take market share."

 

KEYWORDS: business management commercial interiors distribution financial insights

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • resilient flooring

    The 7 Types of Resilient Flooring

    The resilient flooring category is comprised of many...
    Resilient Flooring
    By: Resilient Floorcovering Institute
  • QuickDrain USA’s ShowerLine linear drain

    Tips for Curbless Shower Installation Using a Linear Drain

    Consider these four tips when planning for a curbless...
    Flooring Installation
    By: Darryl Jones
  • 2024 New Flooring Product Guide

    2024 New Flooring Products Guide

    We explore this year's introductions in area rugs,...
    Floor Coverings
    By: FLOOR Trends & Installation Editors
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the FLOOR Trends & Installation audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of FLOOR Trends & Installation or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Woodura Herringbone 2.0
    Sponsored byBjelin

    The Herringbone Floor of the Future

Popular Stories

salesperson meeting with clients

How to Dominate Flooring Sales: The Art of Listening Before Selling

Mimi Mulugeta and Michael Barrows

Military Vet Trades Retirement for New Flooring Venture in Alpharetta

company branding

Branding and Marketing Strategies for Flooring Contractors


Download the Free Moisture Meters Guide

Events

December 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Growth Challenges in the Flooring Industry

What’s holding you back from growth in 2025?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

See More Products

FLOORtalk podcasts - Listen Now

Related Articles

  • Dodge Data Total Construction Starts February.jpg

    Commercial and Multifamily Starts Up 24% in First Half of 2022

    See More
  • Dodge-Data-Analytics-logo

    First Half 2019 Commercial and Multifamily Construction Starts Show Pattern by Metropolitan Area

    See More
  • Shaw's 'Green Home' sponsorship nets nearly half bil. impressions, 15 percent increase in web traffic

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook 2025 Edition

    2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

  • floorfinishes.jpg

    Environmental Impact of Materials: Floor Finishes

  • radiant.jpg

    Radiant Floor Heating, Second Edition

See More Products
×

We’re rolling out the red carpet of flooring knowledge!

Stay in the know on the latest flooring retail trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing