The flooring industry has come a long way since I started in the business in the late 1970s. Back then, there were more than 300 domestic carpet mills, and soft flooring accounted for most flooring sales both residentially and commercially. Fast forward to 2021, and hard surface now plays a very dominant role in sales in both business segments.
In the commercial world, carpet tile now accounts for the largest piece of the pie when it comes to soft surface. Approximately 70 percent of all carpet installations are carpet tile. Broadloom continues to decline year after year. With that said, there is now a strong argument for the manufacturers to move all pricing to square foot instead of square yard. After all, most carpet tile is 2’x2’ yet we still quote it by the square yard. We continue to see invoices from manufacturers with LVT, VCT and other tile products quoted in square feet, while carpet tile and broadloom are priced by the square yard. Sheet vinyl is also priced by the square yard and for sake of continuity should be changed to square foot.