TDUK SupplyingTimber Issue 8 DIGITAL - Magazine - Page 22
THE MARKET
amount was imported from
Portugal, Germany, Belgium
and, just outside the leading
group of supplying countries,
China.
The value of all particleboard
imports in 2024 was 11%
lower than in 2023. The 11%
decrease resulted from a 7%
drop in the average price of
the basket of particleboard
products as volumes fell by
around 5%, compared to 2023.
The 11% overall decline in value
comprised a 7% decrease in the
value of standard (unworked)
particleboards, a 12% fall in
the value of melamine-faced
chipboards (MFC) and a 14%
decline in the value of other
assorted products.
Shifting sources of supply
An important development
during 2024 has been the
changing sources of supply,
with many leading countries
losing volume while others
outside of the leading groups
gain. Collectively, the top 昀椀ve
softwood importing countries
lost 19,000m3 in 2024, when
compared to 2023, while all
others, collectively, increased
volumes by an impressive
104,000m3.
Less volume was imported
from Sweden, Finland and
Germany, while the biggest
shift in volume from outside
of the top 昀椀ve came from
Norway, Lithuania and Austria,
among others, with a net shift
in volume away from the top
昀椀ve of +85,000m3. The top 昀椀ve
countries’ growth rate in 2024
was –0.4% but, for all other
countries, growth reached +26%.
In 2024 nearly 11,000m3 less
temperate hardwood was
imported than in 2023 with
almost all of the lower volume
coming from the top group of
countries. Here, again, there was
a discernible shift in sources
of supply with three of the
largest supplying countries – the
USA, Germany and Croatia –
accounting for the majority of
the lost volume whereas other
countries outside of the top
seven exported marginally more
volume to the UK.
Growth from the top seven
was down –5.1% while marginal
growth came from all others –
a case of the smaller volume
supplying countries gaining
volume at the expense of the
leading group.
A slightly di昀昀erent analysis
for softwood plywood imports
matches two of the largest
supplying countries, Brazil and
Chile, against China and all
others. This highlights the rapid
SUPPLYING TIMBER
22
growth of China in the supply of
softwood plywood.
Together, Brazil and Chile
accounted for 66% of volume in
2024 but both exported less in
2024. Some countries outside
of the leading group supplied
more volume in 2024, notably
Uruguay, Latvia and South
Africa, but China’s growth
placed it in the leading group.
Particleboard imports fell by
around 29,000m3 in 2024, but
it was the top 昀椀ve countries
that carried the greatest loss,
losing 20,000m3 while all others
collectively lost only 9,000m3
Of the top 昀椀ve, Spain, Belgium
and Portugal all supplied more
volume but this was outweighed
by losses from France and
Germany. Of the lower 9,000m3
from all others, a notable
increase came from China. For
particleboard imports, supply
shifts came within the top 昀椀ve
as well from outside the leading
group.
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SPRING 2025
