European production of wood material panels increased by 1.6% in 2017 to 75 million m³. There was no prominent driving factor in this development, rather all assortments grew with the exception of wet-processed HDF panels. Wood-fiber insulation boards increased in 2017 for the sixth time in a row. Especially wood construction products gained in importance.
In terms of consumption, MDF panels stood out with record results in Europe. Moreover, two thirds of particle boards produced in Europe went into furniture production, as the report indicates. The consumption of wood materials in Eastern European CIS states increased by an impressive 10.2% to 19.3 million m³.
In the course of a global assessment, the UNECE highlighted that in 2017 Russia exported OSB to the US for the first time. Plywood production of the Russian federation, however, was struggling with a shortage of raw materials and dropped by 0.8% to 3.7 million m³ Furthermore, the report informs about the enormous import duties for hardwood plywood from China to the US while demand for wood materials for the construction sector is expected to gain 3.8% in 2018 (OSB: +4.4% and plywood +2.3%).
