Turkish Carpet Exporters, Man Wah Cite Conflict Costs

Kaplan of the Turkish Exporters Assembly ties Turkish Gulf freight costs to the Iran–U.S. conflict; Man Wah blames chemical costs on the Middle East conflict; and Iran's carpet makers face war-related uncertainty alongside inflation and weak purchasing power, according to MENA Covering's reporting. Our read: makers with Southeast Asian capacity and a clean route to the US look better placed, as US import data show Vietnam gaining in rugs and in mattresses and bedding.

The Gulf detour has a price

Türkiye exported $2.02 billion of carpets to 186 countries and free zones in the first nine months, as MENA Covering reported, citing Turkish Exporters Assembly data. That sounds healthy until you hear the sector expected growth of 15% to 20%. It has also revised down its initial $3.5 billion year-end target without disclosing a replacement figure, with Kaplan citing conflict-linked disruption, raw material pressures, commodity costs and logistics difficulties.

İskender Kaplan heads the assembly's carpet board. He said container costs to Qatar, Dubai, Oman and Kuwait rose from about $1,500 to as much as $10,000, which he attributed to the loss of access to maritime routes amid the Iran–U.S. conflict. He said that pushed exporters onto an overland corridor through Türkiye, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, where, Kaplan said, delays in obtaining Saudi transit visas have contributed to lengthy truck queues at border crossings.

Kaplan said undelivered orders are piling up in manufacturers' warehouses and limiting their ability to keep producing. Our read: a logistics problem has become a capacity problem. He added that buyers across Gulf and neighbouring markets are still awaiting shipments. Our read: those buyers face late deliveries, and any supplier with stock already in the region has leverage. Machine-made carpet accounted for $1.56 billion of the nine-month total; the report does not say which product types make up the Gulf backlog.

The brighter side for Turkish mills is the West. The US bought $448 million, up 16.6%, and Britain $114.2 million, up 23.4%. Mind the timing, though. FurniPulse analysis of U.S. Census International Trade API data shows US rug and carpet imports from Türkiye at $714.3M in the 12 months to March, down 11.2%. The two series cover different periods, so we do not read a trend reversal into them yet. Our read: Turkish exports to the US, Türkiye's largest single market, are growing this year, though the data do not show whether that growth is Gulf-bound product being redirected; Saudi Arabia also rose 9.4%.

MENA Covering's report on the Tehran machine-made carpet exhibition describes fewer halls, absent manufacturers and almost no visible international buyers. One exhibitor told the publication that soaring inflation and falling purchasing power have significantly weakened domestic demand, which had long been the industry's cushion against sanctions. Our read: for importers elsewhere, Iranian machine-made supply does not look like a practical option this season.

Chemicals, margins and Man Wah

On the cost side, a sharp warning came from Man Wah Holdings. The company issued a profit warning saying it expects net profit for the six months to September 30 to fall 70 to 90 percent from approximately HK$1.146 billion a year earlier, as Woodworking Network reported on October 15. The company blamed higher chemical raw material prices driven by the Middle East conflict, plus competition that delayed price adjustments. It said the US business it acquired in December 2025 incurred operating losses on rising costs and weak demand. The company said its subsidiary Southern Motion, Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US, resulting in impairment losses on related goodwill and intangible assets.

Our read: this is a pricing-power story. Core revenue was broadly stable, the company said; margins were not. US seating and upholstery imports from China fell 47.0% to $3.4B in the 12 months to March, according to FurniPulse analysis of U.S. Census International Trade API data, while imports from Mexico held at $8.0B.

The feedstock picture is uneven, so we would not assume one direction for every fibre. The FurniPulse Materials tracker shows Brent at $108 per bbl and naphtha up 4% on the latest observation, while Chinese PTA and MEG fell 2.4% and 2.7% on October 19 and, in the tracker's assessment, China's PP market is holding steady. The tracker carries low confidence and cannot tell us which chemicals Man Wah buys.

Aquafil offers a counterpoint. MENA Covering reported that the ECONYL maker's first-half 2026 revenue fell on lower selling prices after raw material costs dropped, yet EBITDA rose; management credited cost containment, including cutting the workforce from approximately 2,900 to 2,300 over two years. Aquafil also increased purchases from the US and China as European monomer availability declined, and longer shipping times increased inventory in transit and absorbed working capital, management said.

Capacity heads to Vietnam and Indonesia

HS Hyosung Advanced Materials held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $100 million carpet plant in Da Nang, Vietnam, due for completion by 2029, MENA Covering reported. The planned plant is intended to make automotive and commercial carpets. What matters is the design: raw material imports, BCF yarn, tufting, backing and laminating at one site, which the company says will improve production efficiency and quality. Vietnam is gaining in rugs too: US rug and carpet imports from Vietnam reached $233.8M in the 12 months to March, up 45.8%, per FurniPulse analysis of U.S. Census International Trade API data.

In bedding, DeRucci North America planned its US bedding debut of five AI-powered mattresses at this fall's High Point Market, Home Textiles Today reported on October 12, with the beds shipping container-direct from its factory in Indonesia. The company reports a 45% share of China's premium mattress market and more than $850 million in annual mattress sales. The Indonesia routing matters more than the AI, but the data are mixed: US mattress and bedding imports from China fell 36.8% in the 12 months to March and Vietnam's rose 81.9%, while Indonesia's slipped 4.3% to $364.6M, per the same FurniPulse analysis. Our read: DeRucci is shipping from an origin that has not yet captured the shift, though it also owns capacity in China and Vietnam.

What we know, and what we don't

Still open: the Turkish sector's revised export target, whether Saudi transit procedures will speed up, and whether Turkish export growth to the US reflects redirected Gulf volume. The Turkish export and US import series cover different periods, so they do not establish a reversal together. Our materials tracker has low confidence on resin and polyester prices; it cannot identify the chemicals driving Man Wah's costs or show whether that pressure is easing.