Wood-based panels: declining numbers in 2023

As reported by Epf, the European federation of wood-based panel manufacturers, panel production fell by 6.3 percent in 2023. Negative numbers, but which show that – despite the overall decline – the sector performed better than the furniture and construction sectors, with an increase in the market share of wood products in both segments.

Among the many negative signs, in the EU27/UK/EFTA region, OSB was the only panel category to record a growth in production in 2023, increasing by 2 per cent to 6.6 million cubic metres produced (in 2022 it was 6.5 million, ed.). Mdf panels, on the other hand, dropped by 11 per cent (11.1 million cubic metres in 2023 compared to 12.5 million in 2022), while chipboard, the largest product category, saw production drop by 5 per cent to under 31 million cubic metres (32.5 million in 2022).

Hardboard, which mainly comprises wood fibre insulation boards and has been growing in recent years, decreased by 6 per cent from 5.2 million cubic metres in 2022 to 4.8 million in 2023. The production of plywood panels (minus 15 per cent) and hardboard (minus 17 per cent) also declined.

In the next issues of Xylon you will be able to read a dedicated article and learn more about the numbers released by Epf.