European wood-based panels production output grew 3% in 2025, according to newly released European Panel Federation (EPF) statistics.
The stats, contained in the EPF’s 2025-2025 Annual Report were shared with a large group of wood-based panel manufacturers and other stakeholders at the EPF General Assembly in Milan on June 12.
EPF says demand for panels remains constrained by weak house construction levels, high interest rates and cautious consumer spending. At the same time, European panel producers face high energy and raw material costs which are impacting their competitiveness compared to other world regions.
Production of wood-based panels in Europe (EPF countries) grew 3% in 2025 to 59,587,000m3, while apparent consumption was also up 3% to 60,900,000m3. European imports of wood-based panels during the year were up 35% to 1,313,000m3.
Particleboard, MDF and softboard (wood fibre insulation board) posted increases of 475,000m3, 465,000m3, and 653,000m3 respectively in 2025, with softboard and MDF registering above average growth of +12% and +4% respectively. OSB production volumes rose by 133,000m3.
The largest product category – particleboard – saw an output of 31,818,000m3 for the year (+1.5%). European PB production is expected to show a mild growth of just 0.7% in 2026 – the forecast for total EPF countries’ output this year is 32,047,000m3.
MDF production in Europe grew 4.1% to 11,729,000m3, excluding Turkey and Russia. With Polish output increasing +4% to 2,630,000m3, the country overtook Germany as Europe’s largest MDF manufacturer. Germany production continued to decrease by another 1.5% to 2,607,000m3.
European MDF production in 2026 is forecast to rise to 12,179,000m3.
OSB production grew by 2% in 2025 to 7,193,900m3, helped by gaining some market share in construction. Germany, Romania and Poland have the largest European OSB production capacities. The top destination for extra-EU exports of OSB was the UK with 532,000m3, up 11% compared to 2024.
European OSB production is forecast to grow to 7,520,000m3 in 2026.
Softboard (wood fibre insulation panels) is divided into two categories: rigid boards and flexible batts. Total softboard production increased by 12.3% to 6.1 million m3, surpassing its recent historical peak of 2021 by 8%, with rigid products accounting for 59% of production.
European plywood production in the EU27 declined by -1.4% in 2025 to 2,388,600m3. Only Poland and the Baltic States bucked this trend, registering increases of 11% and 5.1% respectively. The figure for the whole of Europe (including Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus) amounted to 6,349,600m3, down by 4.2% on 2024.
