1. UN/ECE Timber Committee Geneva, 3 October 2001 Developments in the European wood-based panels industries European Panel Federation Presentation by Dominique Coutrot, UIPP

2. The European Panel Federation represents 200 particleboard, 60 MDF and 7 OSB manufacturers Annual production PB: 32.2 mio m³ (+5%) MDF: 9.0 9.0 mio m³ (+27%) OSB: 1.2 mio mio m³ (+20%) Members in 23 countries

3. European Woodworking Industry 2000 : 155 billion EURO

4. Wood-based panels in Europe, 2000 Total production: 51.1 mio m³ + 8%

5. Particleboard production in Europe 1991-2000, x million m³

6. Key figures particleboard+2.8% 30.419 million m³ Consumption -1.5% 7.018 million m³ Imports +4.4% 8.688 million m³ Exports +4.6% 32.218 million m³ Production

7. MDF production in Europe, 1991-2000, x million m³

8. OSB production in Europe 1995-2000, x million m³

9. Expansion of production capacity x mio m³ +4% +15% +57%

10. Demand side (I): 2.construction industry : Western Europe: moderate growth rates of 1.4% (2001) to 1.7% (2002/03) C-Eastern Europe: acceleration from 5.3% in 2001 to 7.4% in 2003 1.furniture industry: stagnating population and increased competition

11. Demand side (II): 3.laminate flooring: strong rises in production over the last 5 years

12. Prospects for the future  2000 was record year  First signs of weakness in 4 th Quarter 2000  Stagnation during the first half of 2001  Slow growth MDF production  Decrease of PB and OSB production  Industry adapted to the market  Extremely rapid turn of general economic environment  Domino-effect: reduced stocks with customers

13. Prospects for the future  Depending on  market developments, especially construction  effect of the € on industial and consumer demand  New applications – role of the industry/federations  Problems in the short term, but confident for the future: versatile, eco-efficient, engineered products, modern equipment

14. Prospects for the future (2)  Similar situation end of 1998, beginning of 1999  Despite this, 1998 and 1999 showed growth Create reversed domino-effect: increased stocks with customers Create reversed domino-effect: increased stocks with customers

15. More Information? www.europanels.org