Following on from Part 1 of our survey of the industry, covering Europe and North America, as usual, we turn our attention for this survey of 2010 to those countries in the ‘rest of the world’.

We began our survey last year by saying that 2009 was the year when “dire economic conditions finally caught up with capacity development in the MDF industry”.

Readers may be astounded to see that world MDF capacity grew by 15.3 million m3 in 2009 compared with the 7.4 million m3 somewhat optimistically reported in last year’s survey.

2009 will be known as the year when the dire economic conditions finally caught up with capacity development in the MDF industry.

In 2007, World MDF capacity grew by 6.37 million m3, or 13.5%. This produced last year’s title “Panel crisis – what crisis?” (WBPI issue 4, 2008, p15).
During 2008, MDF capacity grew by 3.7 million m3, or 6.9%. This was an obvious slowdown but again hardly a crisis, in spite of the monetary and economic crises swirling around the globe.
The survey stressed the difference between capacity building and actual production. Operating mills could well be feeling hard-pressed by reduced demand and rising costs, while new investments are being brought on stream; such investments were based on decisions made two, three or four years previously. The ‘rest of the world’ region  – the principal subject of this Part II  – added over 3.1 million m3 for 10.2% growth over 2007. This compares with ‘old world’ growth of just 2.6% over 2007.

In the first part of our annual world survey, Europe and North America as at the end of 2008, John Wadsworth finds that capacity has still grown in the midst of the economic gloom

Regionally and globally, 2007 proved to be one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic, of recent years, says John Wadsworth, introducing our survey of 2007 in the ‘rest of the world’, outside Europe and North America

There looks certain to be a sharp decline in profitability for MDF manufacturers in the coming months in both Europe and North America, as John Wadsworth reports in the first part of our survey of the world MDF industry

For most of the MDF World, 2006 was an unremarkable year, with just 1.56 million m³ added to world capacity, representing growth of 3.4% over 2005. Those readers whose memories stretch back to our 2006 MDF survey (of the 2005 situation) might recall the prediction that capacity would grow by 2.1 million m³,or 4.5%.

Following on from his analysis of the MDF industry, John Wadsworth shares his personal views with us about the financial and social prospects around the world after the economic crisis and discusses the great importance of, and opportunities for, wood in that recovery