Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong Flooring will increase prices to offset the imposed 10% tariff on affected products it imports from China—including luxury vinyl tile (LVT), rigid core flooring and engineered wood flooring—effective Oct. 1.
“Our team stands ready to work with customers to provide the best flooring solutions, from our own U.S. plants and global suppliers,” said Don Maier, president and CEO, Armstrong Flooring. “Although increased prices due to the tariff are unavoidable, we will look for opportunities to mitigate the impact where possible.”
Armstrong Flooring’s pricing action followed an announcement by the federal government that it would impose a tariff of 10% on certain flooring products imported to the U.S. from China, effective on Sept. 24, with an increase to 25% effective Jan. 1. Armstrong Flooring expects to implement an additional price increase effective Jan. 1, to offset the increase in the tariff.
“Armstrong Flooring is primarily a domestic manufacturer, with three-quarters of our sales in 2017 coming from product we produce,” Maier said. “We have made substantial investments to expand our capacity to manufacture flooring products in the U.S., including developing LVT production lines at plants in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Oklahoma and increasing our engineered wood capabilities at plants in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Maier continued, “At the same time, we recognize and value the importance of fair trade worldwide. Sourcing products from other countries expands our access to new innovations and provides additional capacity that is not available in the U.S. today to meet rapidly-increasing market demand for specific products.”