Chicago— The North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) has released its Quarterly Sales Trends Report for the first quarter of 2015. Initial 2015 sales growth forecasts are positive with NAFCD distributors forecasting 6% growth vs. 3% growth in 2014. NAFCD manufacturers currently expect to maintain the 11% growth rate posted in 2014. NAFCD members are anticipating 5% to 6% profit growth on average in 2015.
Distributor-specific insights from the report show that input costs are expected to increase 2% in 2015, similar to the increase in 2014. Profits are expected to increase 6% for distributors in 2015, an improvement compared to 2014.
The Q1 2015 growth forecast for manufacturers has increased moderately over the past 30 days. Manufacturer cost outlooks are also modestly higher since early Q4. More than 80% of manufacturers plan to add head count in 2015 despite more than 70% of manufacturers citing difficulty finding quality candidates. Additionally, 70% of manufacturers plan to add distributors in 2015.