Continuation of demand

A survey undertaken by the Federation of the European Parquet Industry, FEP, reveals that production in the “traditional” FEP member countries increased by 6.2 per cent in 2005, achieving a new record volume of 79.2 mio m². Total production in all countries rose by 4.9 per cent to reach a volume of 96 mio m², mainly due to production growth in Austria, Germany and the Nordic countries.Sales, however, did not manage to keep up with this tendency, so growth in 2005 came to just 3.4 per cent compared to the previous year. Developments varied greatly between the different countries. Whereas Austria and the Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark and Finland) report impressive growth rates of 25 and 16 per cent, other markets saw considerably more moderate growth (2 to 4 per cent) or recorded a decline. This applies in particular to Germany (-3.3 per cent), as well as Hungary and Poland, where the markets experienced some difficulties in 2005.One striking aspect of developments in European parquet production in 2005 is the decline of the “solid” segment. With a share of 3 per cent, mosaic parquet has now become a niche product, and lamparquet recorded a 25 per cent decrease in production in 2005. This contrasts with multilayer parquet, which now accounts for an increased share of over 80 per cent. Sweden remains the main parquet producing country in Europe (19.8 per cent) ahead of Germany (12.2 per cent) and Poland (11.9 per cent), closely followed by the Nordic countries along with Spain and Austria.The highest per capita production figure is claimed by Sweden with 2.10 m² per person, followed by Austria with 1.15 m² and Finland, Norway and Denmark with 0.24 m² per capita overall.The demand for parquet in the FEP countries has risen by 3.4 per cent to just under 100 mio m². In the “traditional” FEP countries, sales have seen a rise of 4.2 per cent. The total sales of parquet in the EU and EFTA countries (including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greece and Portugal, none of which is a member of the FEP) are estimated to be at least 110 mio m². Germany is still the most important parquet market in Europe, accounting for a share of 21 per cent, even though sales were down in 2005. Second and third places go to Spain and Italy. Austria heads the field when it comes to per-capita consumption (0.88 m²/inhabitant), followed by the Nordic countries and Switzerland at over 0.60 m². Average consumption in the FEP countries amounts to 0.25 m²/inhabitant.Oak continues to play a…