BY BETÜL ALAKENT
Several Turkish manufacturers decided to establish a new logistics center in the U.S. following a surge in demand due to additional taxes on Chinese goods and more frequent house renovations during the pandemic.
The three-month preorders of the furniture industry and six-month preorders of the carpet industry have been sold out. Due to the high demand, some companies made new investments or rented new warehouses in the U.S. With the support of Turkey’s Trade Ministry, the sector is preparing to establish two logistics centers in Los Angeles and New Jersey, on an area of 10,000 square meters (2.5 acres), in the first six months of the year.
The sector representatives said that carpet exports to the U.S. doubled in 2020 compared to the previous year, exceeding $800 million (TL 6 billion), and outperformed the closest market, Saudi Arabia, by 3.5 times. Carpet exporters expect 15% growth in 2021, reaching $1 billion.
The furniture sector, which carried out $183.5 million in exports to the U.S. in 2020, also expects to increase the figure to $500 million in 2021 and to $1 billion in 2022 with the effect of the logistics center that will be established this year.
Ahmet Güleç, the chairperson of the Federation of Furniture Associations (MOSFED), said that there is great interest in Turkish furniture in the U.S., adding that they aim to shorten delivery time, which is currently about four months. “When new logistic centers will be opened, the products will be delivered in a month,” he said.
Bellona General Manager Mustafa Karamemiş said that they established a subsidiary of Bellona under the name of Hudson Global USA Inc. in December 2020.
“The U.S. imports $60 billion worth of furniture. Only 10% of this value is over Turkey’s total exports. While increasing our share in this market, it is important to strengthen our investments and infrastructure as furniture makers,” he said.
“Royal Halı General Manager Tansel Tula said that they exported $1.5 million to the U.S. with the brands of Royal, Atlas and Pierre Cardin. “This year, we aim to increase the figure to $6 million. In this context, we made franchise agreements in the U.S. One of our franchises has a 3,000-square-meter warehouse in Washington. All of our products will be distributed through this dealer,” Tula said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in June 2019 embraced a goal to increase the bilateral trade target from $75 billion to $100 billion, an aim that has been reiterated by the two countries’ officials on a number of occasions.
