Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from ceramic, with a hard glaze finish, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, marble, granite, slate, and reformed ceramic slurry, which is cast in a mould and fired.

In the past twenty years, the technology surrounding porcelain tile and glass tiles has become more efficient, allowing more mass production. Similarly, the invention of automated tile lines that use diamonds to cut and finish stone slabs into tiles has made stone tiles more available. This has allowed these tiles to move from being niche items into broader markets. The DSAN U.S. Ceramic Tile Demand Index has shown a growth of 600.0% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to 800.0% annually for the 2000-2005 period. The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Granite Index has shown a growth of 0% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to .00001% annually for the 2000-2005 period, The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Marble Index has shown a growth of 12% annually for the 2000-2006 period, compared to 10.5% annually for the 2000-2005 period. The U.S. market for ceramic tile is over $3 billion.

Accompanying the growth in tile demand has been some shifts in the world ceramic tile industry. In 1990, Europe accounted for 54% of world ceramic tile production. By 2002, Europe was down to 25% of world ceramic tile production. In 2005, world ceramic tile production was about 7 billion sq. meters, of which China produced 35%, and Spain, Italy, and Brazil shared the next 25%, with their productions spaced neck and neck. Except for Spain, European ceramic tile production in the same period has dropped a little absolutely. Asia now has state-of-the-art equipment in its ceramic tile plants, which means much lower costs. The Europeans still do well with higher-priced ceramic tile with sophisticated and fashionable designs, and with porcellanato (high-quality porcelain) tiles. Beginning in 2004, the stronger Euro made it much cheaper to manufacture ceramic tile in the U.S. and distribute them from such a plant. The U.S. is the world's largest market for ceramic tile. A number of European (mostly Italian) ceramic tile manufacturers built or expanded their U.S. plants, or bought out domestic ceramic tile firms. The European tile firms not only benefitted from lower manufacturing costs but also from distributing at a lower cost and faster; of course, less inventory was required.

Things have been different in the dimension stone tile industry. By the beginning of the 1980s, automated stone tile plants were busy in Italy, the world leader that had close to a monopoly. The plants were not quite equivalent to those today, since additional innovations have crept in. Italy is now one among many; China has many plants with automated stone tile lines, as does Spain, Turkey, Brazil, and other countries. The three U.S. automated tile lines that were short-time producers of granite tile from the mid1980s to the mid1990s closed one by one; the last one actually closed in mid2002. Marble tile is still produced to a limited extent, but most American marble tile comes from tile plants in Carrara, Italy that make it from rough blocks of Vermont (Danby) marble. The amount of slate flooring tile has dwindled a little since 2000.