The German furniture industry shows signs of stabilization after a decline in 2024. According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office, in the first quarter of 2025, furniture exports amounted to around 2 billion euros, recording a slight decline of zero point five percent compared to the same period of the previous year. This result temporarily interrupts the negative trend observed last year, when the sector experienced an overall drop of five point five percent.
However, performance in the main foreign markets was uneven. Deliveries to France, the leading export market, fell to 317 million euros (down two point two percent). Declines were also recorded in Austria (down zero point three percent), the Netherlands (down two point two percent), the United Kingdom (down seven point four percent), and Belgium (down two point one percent). In contrast, Switzerland, the second most important export destination for German furniture, showed a growth of two point nine percent. Export figures were also particularly positive for Italy (up eight point nine percent) and Spain (up eleven point six percent), where a dynamic real estate market is currently driving demand. Notably, exports to the United States expanded significantly, with an increase of nine point six percent.
According to Jan Kurth, managing director of the German furniture industry associations (VDM/VHK), the increase in exports to the U.S. market may be linked to anticipatory effects due to the risk of new protectionist measures. It appears to be a precautionary strategy by American importers in anticipation of potential tariffs.
The U.S. trade policy is also believed to have had a significant impact on German imports. Again, according to the published data, in the first quarter of 2025, furniture imports to Germany rose by seventeen percent, reaching 3 billion euros. A sharp increase was particularly noted in shipments from China (up thirty-seven percent) and Vietnam (up twenty-three point five percent). Kurth attributes this trend to a diversion effect caused by U.S. tariff policies, which have redirected international trade flows toward the European market.
This shift has brought China back to the top of the list of furniture suppliers to Germany, overtaking Poland. “In an already difficult and challenging domestic market environment, the influx of additional volumes from Asia is further increasing pressure on our manufacturers,” Kurth emphasizes, highlighting the issues the sector is facing amid international market instability and growing competition.
