Analysis of intra-community trade in ceramic flooring and coverings

The inspiration for this project came from the need to understand the complex trade dynamics in a highly competitive sector such as ceramics, particularly in Europe, where differences in production capacity and demand create unique trade patterns. The initial idea was to explore how some countries such as Italy and Spain have managed to establish themselves as leaders in the sector, while others, such as France and Germany, are significantly dependent on imports. This project was also conceived as a way to apply advanced technological tools to effectively visualize data.

Project Description

This project analyzes the dynamics of trade in ceramic products between European countries, highlighting trade flows, market shares and net trade balances. The main objective was to identify the main exporters and importers, assess relative trade efficiency and provide a visual representation to better understand trends and opportunities in this key sector.

Through a rigorous methodological approach and innovative visual tools, this analysis sheds light on the competitive advantages of exporting countries such as Italy and Spain, as well as on the dependencies of major importing markets such as France and Germany.

Methodology

Collection of key data: Data were collected on:

Market shares: Percentage of total volume (m2) of ceramic products represented by each country.

Net trade balances: Difference between exports and imports in terms of volume (m2).

Smoothed trade balance by share: Ratio between net trade balance and market share, assessing the efficiency of each country in capitalising on its market share.

Data source: Eurostat.

Quantitative analysis:

Classification of countries into three categories: net exporters, net importers and balanced.

Calculation of the intra-community balance smoothed by share, which allowed to identify how well each country optimises its market share.

Geographical visualization:

Creation of an interactive map showing market shares and trade balances using circles of different sizes and colors:

Circle size: Represents the trade balance in volume (m2).

Circle color: Indicates the relative market share of each country.

Tools used: Microsoft Excel and Power BI.

Trade efficiency indicator:

Development of an aggregate indicator that combines trade balances and market shares to measure the relative competitiveness of countries.

Results

Main exporters:

Italy: Leads with a market share of 3.01% and a positive trade balance of 1,177 million m2.

Spain: Second exporter, with a share of 2.23% and a positive trade balance of 873 million m2.

Poland: Although with a more modest share (0.39%), it is also positioned as a leading net exporter in Eastern Europe.

Main importers:

France: Top net importer, with a negative trade balance of -2.39 million m2.

Germany: Significant deficit of -1.14 million m2, evidencing a strong dependence on intra-EU trade.

Total trade balance:

The overall intra-European trade balance amounts to -3.91 billion m2, reflecting a considerable disparity between the main exporters and importers.

Smoothed trade balance by share:

The intra-EU balance smoothed by share shows an aggregate value of 2.85 billion euros, highlighting the efficiency of countries such as Italy and Spain in capitalising on their market share, as well as the relative performance of Poland and the Czech Republic.

Interactive map:

Visual representation that facilitates the identification of the main players and trade patterns, allowing a quick and clear understanding of market trends.

Conclusions

Southern European dominance: Italy and Spain stand out as the main suppliers to the European market, with a highly competitive export capacity.

Import dependence: Markets such as France and Germany are significantly dependent on ceramic imports, which opens up opportunities to balance trade or encourage local production.

Trade efficiency: The smoothed trade balance by quota provides a unique perspective to measure the relative efficiency of countries in intra-EU trade.

Visual tools: The interactive geographic representation is a valuable resource to identify areas of opportunity and competitive strategies.

This project underlines the importance of a detailed analysis to understand the complexities of intra-European ceramic trade, offering key insights for companies, policy makers and market analysts.