Washington, DC – Mattress makers in South East Asia are more than filling the gap in the US market caused by falling exports from China.
The US has imposed import tariffs which can be up to 1732% on finished mattresses from China.
Figures from the US ITC show that mattress imports from China were down by 68% at 3.7m in the first half of the year following the announcement of the tariffs. But sharp rises in imports from Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have offset this.
The US has imported 761,000 fewer mattresses which claim China as their production location since the start of 2019. But, 856,000 more mattresses have been imported from Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia during that time. In 2018, those countries exported a total of 111,804 mattresses to the US
Imports from the Philippines have grown from 6 in the whole of 2018 to 12,788 in the first half of 2019. US mattress imports from Malaysia have grown from 183 in the whole of 2018 to 142,198 in the first half of this year. Indonesian imports have grown from 8833 in the first half of 2018 to 257,198 in the first half of 2018.
Imports from Vietnam have also increased, by a more modest 440% to 555,400 units between the first half of 2018 and the start of 2019.
But, at the same time, Thai mattress exports to the US are down by 4,000 to 68,733 in the first half of the year. Exports from Hong Kong are down 85% to 8754 units. Japanese exports to the US have fallen 90% to 834 units. Taiwanese producers exported 8000 fewer units in the first half of 2019 at 37,000 units.
