CLEVELAND -- Demand for hard surface flooring in China is expected to climb 7.3% per year through 2010 to over three billion square meters, according to a new study, Flooring in China, from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm. Measured in value, hard surface flooring demand will expand more than 10% per year, reaching ¥174 billion in 2010. The Chinese hard surface flooring market will outpace growth in all other parts of the world, driven by healthy gains in building construction activity as industrialization efforts continue and income levels rise. Government efforts to further increase average per capita living space and privatize home ownership, and sustained strength in foreign direct investment funding, will also contribute to hard surface flooring gains.

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