German woodworking industry: 3.6 billion euros in 2022

Record year for the wood technology industry in Germany. Indeed, production reached a record figure of Eur 3.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 8.3 per cent over the previous year. In 2022, the export value of German woodworking machinery manufacturers increased by 4.5 per cent year-on-year to Eur 2.4 billion. The most important markets were once again the Usa (307 million Euros, an increase of 20 per cent) and China (255 million Euros, a decrease of 1 per cent), followed by France (154 million Euros, an increase of 14 per cent), Poland and Austria.

As predicted over the past few months and as could be foreseen by talking to companies, a ‘post-pandemic boom‘ phase is also coming to an end in Germany. In addition, investment financing is becoming much more expensive, which often leads to a reluctance to place orders. Another important trend theme is timber construction, which enjoys a growing demand and therefore the general decline in building activity in Europe does not affect manufacturers in this segment to any great extent.

Vdma, the trade association, assumes a normalization of incoming orders in the current year 2023, after the exceptional record year 2022. The forecast for production is therefore a minus five per cent in 2023.