Sourcing Furniture & Building Materials from China: 2026 Customs Data Every Overseas Project Buyer Should See

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Quick answer: China exported US$34.1 billion of furniture and finishing building materials to seven key developed markets (USA, Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, UAE, Saudi Arabia) in 2024, according to UN Comtrade customs data. Furniture accounts for $28.6B of that flow, aluminum doors & windows $2.0B, ceramic sanitary ware $1.6B, worked stone $0.8B, wood doors and joinery $0.7B, and ceramic tiles $0.4B. If you are a developer, contractor or FF&E provider planning a project, these are the customs figures that tell you what your peers are already buying from China — and what each market’s duty picture really means for your landed cost.

Key figures at a glance (2024–2026)

  • Global furniture trade: US$174 billion (2024 estimate, CSIL)
  • China building materials exports: US$35.6 billion (2024, China Building Materials Federation)
  • Global hotel construction pipeline: 15,922 projects / 2.44 million rooms — an all-time high (Q4 2025, Lodging Econometrics)
  • Middle East hotel pipeline: record 717 projects (Q1 2026, Lodging Econometrics), led by Saudi Arabia (385 projects, +21% YoY by project count)
  • Among these seven markets, Australia is second only to the United States for Chinese aluminum windows and doors (US$632M against US$784M in 2024, UN Comtrade)

Who imports what from China: the customs matrix

The table below shows China-reported 2024 export values (US$ millions) to seven developed and Gulf markets, by HS category. Source: UN Comtrade.

Three things stand out. First, among these seven markets, Australia is second only to the United States for Chinese aluminum windows and doors, at $632M. Second, the UK imports $3.3B of Chinese seating and other furniture. Third, Saudi Arabia and the UAE together take $3.3B across these categories.

US duties on Chinese cabinets and tiles: why the headline rate is not your landed cost

Since 2020 US antidumping duty orders have carried a China-wide rate of 262.18% on wooden cabinets and vanities and 356.02% on ceramic tile. Headline rates like these make many US buyers assume China is off the table for those categories — but the published maximum is not what every shipment actually pays. Actual landed cost depends on scope determinations, product classification, the exporter’s assigned rate, and how the sourcing and supply chain are structured — which is why US commercial projects continue to buy cabinetry and tile packages from China where the case-by-case numbers work. The practical takeaway for a US developer or contractor: don’t rule categories in or out on headline rates — get a project-specific landed-cost assessment first. Ask your customs broker for that assessment before you rule a category in or out. Meanwhile the US still imported sanitary ware ($841M), worked stone ($455M) and wood doors and joinery ($335M) from China in 2024.

Sourcing this for a commercial project?

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Where commercial demand is growing

The demand side of this market is hotel, apartment and mixed-use construction. Lodging Econometrics counts a record 15,922 hotel projects under development globally (Q4 2025), with the Q1 2026 regional counts standing at: 6,020 in the US, 2,387 in Asia-Pacific excluding China (+15%, a record), 1,731 in Europe, and a record 717 in the Middle East — where Saudi Arabia alone has 385 projects in the pipeline. Each of these properties carries an FF&E line in its approved development budget; ask your operator or quantity surveyor for that figure, because it is the number a China package has to fit.

What this means for developers and contractors

China supplies every category in the table above — aluminum windows, kitchen and wardrobe cabinets, sanitary ware, stone, doors and hotel furniture — and sea freight is quoted to you before shipment. The trade-offs are supplier verification, quality control and, for the US, duty exposure. FBM Sourcing manages sourcing and pre-shipment QC for hotel, apartment and commercial projects; see our completed project case studies or talk to us about your project bill of materials.

FAQ

How much furniture and building material do developed markets buy from China?

US$34 billion in 2024 across seven developed and Gulf markets in the core fit-out categories (China-reported UN Comtrade data): USA $20.1B, Australia $4.1B, UK $3.8B, Canada $2.3B, Saudi Arabia $1.9B, UAE $1.4B, New Zealand $0.5B.

Which country imports the most aluminum windows and doors from China?

Among the seven markets in this dataset, the United States (US$784M in 2024), followed by Australia (US$632M), according to China-reported UN Comtrade data for HS 7610.

Can US projects still source kitchen cabinets or tiles from China?

China-wide antidumping rates of 262.18% on wooden cabinets and vanities and 356.02% on ceramic tile have applied since 2020, but the rate a shipment actually pays varies with scope determinations, classification and the exporter’s assigned rate. Ask your customs broker for a landed-cost assessment on your actual bill of materials rather than deciding on headline rates.

How much does a hotel FF&E package from China cost?

It depends on the brand standard, room count and specification, so start from the FF&E line in your approved development budget, which your operator or quantity surveyor can confirm.

Do I need a China sourcing agent for a commercial project?

For one-off project buyers, usually yes: a local team handles factory verification, sample control, consolidated QC and loading across all the suppliers on a project — the difference between a coordinated fit-out delivery and container-by-container surprises.

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Since 2014, FBM Sourcing has managed China procurement for overseas construction projects — building materials and FF&E, from sourcing to after-sales.

Category (HS)USAAustraliaUKCanadaNZUAESaudiTotal
Seating (9401)8,3251,1411,66388915152257513,266
Other furniture incl. cabinets (9403)9,3451,7251,59698819257688715,310
Aluminum doors & windows (7610)7846322161615766882,004
Ceramic tiles (6907)19200764144228373
Ceramic sanitary ware (6910)841150129118251052341,602
Worked stone (6802)4551044246881100836
Wood doors & joinery (4418)3351011607671716711
Country total20,1054,0533,8132,3414531,4081,92934,104