Nov 19 2010
Worldwide plywood market witnessed a decline during 2008 and 2009 because of the turmoil in the global economy that was triggered by the housing market slump and mortgage crisis in the US. Housing market, the key determinant to the growth of plywood market, suffered seriously across the geographies during 2008 and 2009 leading to noticeable drop in demand for plywood.
The decline in demand was significantly higher in matured markets including the US, the epicenter of housing market collapse, and Europe as well as Japan that collectively account for a major share of the global market. Asia-Pacific including China, also witnessed a drop, though relatively lesser as compared to decline in matured markets. Going forward, the global plywood market is projected to recover by 2011 and register moderate growth in the ensuing years with Asia-Pacific leading the way.
China represents the largest regional market for plywood worldwide, as stated by the new market research report on Plywood. During the past few years, China emerged rapidly from being a net consumer to a major exporter, on account of growing exports to major markets such as Europe and the US. China is a major manufacturer of plywood in the world and the country’s plywood market is fueled by the growth of the domestic economy and increased importance of wood from high-yield and emerging plantations in Eastern and Northern parts of the country and areas of Yangtze River. The United States represents the second largest market for plywood in the world. The plywood market in the US is poised to reach 16.1 million cubic meters by 2012. Growth wise, South Africa is poised to demonstrate the fastest CAGR over the period 2007 through 2015.
The North American plywood sector, following a significant fall during 2008 and 2009, is projected to witness a slow increase in demand as well as prices by 2011. The market growth primarily relies on the recovering housing sector, which is poised to readily absorb the curtailed as well as new capacity. The revival in the structural panels market would rely greatly on the supply dynamics in North America as opposed to the demand trends. Demand for structural panels is expected to improve in accordance with the improvement in housing starts in 2010.
Growth opportunities for plywood remain constrained in various structural applications as a result of low-cost OSB. However, plywood continues to play a major role in construction, despite being replaced by OSB in several construction areas. On the other hand, the US housing market collapse led to an excess of planned, under-construction and existing plywood capacity due to falling demand. As a result, the region witnessed a significantly large number of closures and curtailment of plywood mills since 2006. Production and demand for plywood decreased noticeably in the recent past.
Major players profiled in the report include Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., Atlantic Plywood Corporation, Boise Cascade LLC, Century Plyboard (India) Ltd., Eksons Corp. Bhd, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Greenply Industries Ltd., Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Roseburg Forest Products Co., Sarda Plywood Industries Ltd., Seihoku Group, Uniply Industries Ltd., West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., Weyerhaeuser Company, WTK Holdings Berhad, among others.
The research report titled “Plywood: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. provides a comprehensive review of the plywood markets, impact of recession on the markets, market trends, product overview, recent product introductions, recent industry activity, and profiles of major/niche global as well as regional market participants. The report provides annual sales estimates and projections for plywood market in volume terms for the years 2007 through 2015 for the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Japan, Europe, China, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and South Africa. Also, a six-year (2001-2006) historic analysis is provided for additional perspective.