HIGH POINT — In one of the most dramatic shifts in the recent history of furniture imports, Vietnam has overtaken China as the largest exporter of finished goods to the U.S. market.

According to Furniture Today research, Vietnam shipped just over $7.4 billion in furniture to the U.S. in calendar year 2020, up 31% from the $5.7 billion it shipped in 2019. By comparison, China shipped $7.33 billion to the U.S in the same 12-month period. That number was down 25% from the $9.7 billion China shipped in 2019.

While the gap is relatively small, Vietnam’s position on the world stage shows how it has grown in importance over the years.

Overall, 2020 furniture shipments to the U.S. from overseas factories fell 1% to $22.7 billion, from about $23 billion in 2019.

Malaysia jumped two spots on the list of the top 10 exporting countries, moving ahead of Canada and Mexico for the number three slot. Shipments from Malaysia rose 47% to $1.4 billion, from $942.6 million in 2019.

Mexico’s shipments rose just 1% to $1.2 billion, while Canada’s shipments fell 15%, to $1.1 billion, moving it from the number three spot in 2019 down to number five.

Shipments from Indonesia rose 14%, to $855.3 million, while shipments from Italy fell 7% to $780.2 million.

Shipments from India fell 8% to $347.6 million and shipments from Thailand doubled to nearly $296 million.

Poland’s shipments fell 6% to nearly $249 million placing it at number 10 on the list, down from the number nine spot last year. Thailand’s impressive growth moved it into the list of top 10 countries at No. 9 on the list, moving ahead of both Poland and Taiwan, which held the No. 9 and 10 spots last year respectively.