Global Trends Review

The European Union recently published its annual biofuels report for 2013 with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network. The report identifies the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium as the major users of...

Pellet output in Germany in the first half-year amounted to 1.073 million tonnes (+2.7% year-on-year), Holzkurier said quoting German energy wood and pellet association (DEPV). Sawmill residues were the main raw material source for the pellets production (86%),...

Competition in the further processed products has been intense recently. European producers of laminated flooring (EPLF) association expressed concern about competition from Chinese manufacturers in Russia in a press statement issued after their June meeting, as ITTO reported....

Austrian company Egger has published its outlook on the industry quoted by Holzkurier. According to Dr. Thomas Leissing, Head of Finance, Administration and Logistics, there is worldwide growth except for Europe. However, in Northern Europe and Germany, a...

Pellet imports from the US to Europe are still on an upward trend. According to statistics provided by Eurostat, in the first four months of 2013, import volume grew by 51% year-on-year to 756,789 tons. In value terms,...

British panel industry welcomes government’s decision to cut subsidies for biomass use in the energy sector, TTJ said. The Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF) and the British Furniture Confederation (BFC) have both campaigned against government support for power...

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production fell by 0.3% in the Eurozone and by 0.2% in the whole European Union area in May 2013, compared with the previous month, according to first estimates released by Eurostat. With...

UK, Germany and the US have reported positive housing statistics recently. The UK’s largest builders group – the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) – says its latest state of trade survey shows the net balance for workloads, expected...

The Japan Foreign Timber General Supply and Demand Liaison Conference has released forecasts for timber imports in 2013, ITTO said. While total demand for logs in 2013 is forecast to be as much as it was in 2012,...

600 representatives of the Austrian paper industry took part in a demonstration in Klagenfurt, says Holzkurier quoting orf.at. The protest in the capital of Austria’s southern province of Carinthia was directed against the planned biomass plant in particular...

Many sawmills in Northern Europe have expanded their lumber sales outside the Europe market the past few years resulting in an increase in non-European exports from 27% of total exports in 2007 to 43% in 2012, as reported...

The 35,000 members of the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry (EOS) produced 75.7 million m3 of softwood lumber in 2012 – 4.5% less than the year before, Holzkurier reported. A challenging situation on the log procurement front...