Furniture, world trade down in 2025

The seemingly unstoppable growth of the global furniture market seems to have run aground on higher rocks than even the pandemic. In 2020 Covid indeed caused a violent slowdown in production and consumption, initially, but already in the second half of that year a gradual recovery began, destined to become one of the most robust growths the furniture industry has experienced since the post-war period, which would last for more than two years.

Then, as is well known, geopolitical tensions, galloping inflation and, finally, the protectionist policies (real or threatened) of the United States first slowed this growth and then turned it into a decline.

In 2023, according to data in the World Furniture Outlook 2025/2026 by Csil (Centre for Light Industry Studies), global furniture trade contracted by 9% in current US dollar terms, despite the inflationary environment. Early estimates for 2024 point to a slight upturn in the market, with the value of international furniture trade expected to have reached USD 178 billion.

The outlook for global trade has worsened due to soaring costs and trade policy uncertainty, with tariffs first announced, then suspended, then renegotiated, then reintroduced and finally suspended again. This uncertainty is holding back global trade and investment decisions.

The future outlook, Csil analysts write, is negatively affected by the protectionist agenda of the new US administration, to the extent that world trade in furniture is expected to decline by 2025.