It’s true - things really are looking better!
25 September 2013Continuing the theme of my Comment columns in the last two issues, it seems that there really is good news out there as we pass the halfway stage in 2013. Improvements in the market in North America have continued, thus far at least, and most commentators seem to think that will continue.
The message from the Ligna exhibition, held in Germany in early May, is even more positive, after the exhibitors have had time to reflect on, and evaluate, the event.
In spite of the bad economic news coming out of Italy, my recent visit for our Focus in this issue revealed that the machinery makers I visited were all in good shape, with strong order books, which is the advantage of their being in a truly international market of course. Acimall, the association that represents the Italian machinery makers, also reports stability in the sector in the second quarter of 2013 - an improvement on its previous market reports.
On the panel manufacturing side in the US, meanwhile, there are reports in our news pages of increased sales for Ainsworth Lumber and a major investment in forestry by Weyerhaeuser. This follows reports in previous news pages in WBPI which have highlighted increased sales and profits for panel makers, particularly in the OSB market, in the US.
There are also signs of investment in Europe, with Mohawk buying Spano of Belgium and Kronospan apparently buying Interpanel of Spain. It is of course too early to predict an upturn while the Euro crisis rumbles on, but at least some companies are showing some confidence in the future.
On the downside, Indonesia has once again provided the kind of global publicity the wood products industry doesn't need. The irresponsible burning of vast tracts of forest to plant commercial crops has nothing to do with the forestry industry, but as the pall of smoke spread over Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia in late June, I fear it may also have cast a dark shadow over the whole issue of forestry in the minds of the world's general public, who don't have the knowledge to discern the difference and are only too ready to believe that all tropical forestry is evil, thanks to the untiring opposition of various ill-informed NGOs.
Strange that burning wood and calling it 'carbon neutral biomass energy' doesn't get the same response from those 'concerned citizens'!
Part 2 of our survey of the world MDF manufacturing industry shows that there is still capacity growth in Asia and South America. However, growth in China definitely seems to be slowing, partly in favour of particleboard, while in South America there are question marks over whether or not some of the planned new capacity beyond 2013 will in fact come to fruition as the region's economy shows some uncertainty.
But let's forget the downsides and continue to concentrate on the good news!
