Sector: Plumbing

Market Overview: Like other building product sectors, plumbing is highly dependent on the rate of new construction and renovation. The majority of faucets and plumbing products are manufactured overseas, mainly in China, Taiwan, Mexico, and Germany. However, the companies that manufacture in the United States currently meet a large portion of the domestic demand. Most water-efficient plumbing products made in the United States are manufactured by large, well-known manufacturers like Kohler, Delta, Moen, or MASCO. 

Smaller companies who manufacture faucets and valves for the U.S. market have a much harder time manufacturing their faucets at the same cost as their larger competitors and generally make all of their faucets overseas. Imports are expected to continue to grow as an overall share of the domestic demand for many plumbing products. However, U.S. manufacturers manufacture water-efficient and technologically advanced faucets that are in demand domestically and internationally. High-margin specialized valves, fittings, and other flow control devices for water infrastructure projects and other commercial/industrial purposes are more likely to be made in the U.S. than more generic valves for residential and light commercial construction.[ix]

Conversely, porcelain products like toilets are heavy and require hand finishing. Because of high shipping costs and rising wages in countries like China, some toilet manufacturing has returned from overseas with both domestic and foreign-owned companies producing toilets at a small number of U.S.-based manufacturing facilities.