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LAMINATE FLOORING AT ALL-TIME LOW
The laminate flooring industry in Europe experienced another challenging year in 2023,
but producers remain hopeful of future potential, reports Stephen Powney from the annual press meeting of the Association of the European Producers of Laminate Flooring (EPLF)
T
he end of the Covid era construction products boom (ended mid-2022) is something that has weighed heavily on the European laminate flooring industry. Laminate flooring, like many products, went into reverse as weaker markets and lower demand took hold. The latest situation was told at the annual press meeting of Association of the European Producers of Laminate Flooring (EPLF), attended by WBPI. The big takeaway was EPLF’s summary
that European laminate flooring sales reached an “all-time low” in 2023. This popular product, normally made with an HDF core, will continue to experience tougher times in 2024, explained Ruben Desmet (Unilin), EPLF Vice-President and chairman of the market & image committee.
Mr Desmet said the all-time low in sales for the EPLF manufacturer countries was 318 million m2
level (367 million m2
, a further 13% drop from the 2022 ).
“It represents a significant drop from the
levels where we were historically – 460 - 500 million m2
,” he said.
“However, on a quarterly basis we can see stability over the last six quarters. 2022 was a transition year where the first two quarters were quite OK and line in with the Covid boom, but after the summer of 2022 the construction industry slowed down considerably.” Western Europe had the smallest decline in 2023, with a reverse of 7.6% in 2023. Eastern Europe experienced a drop of 10%, but exports to further away markets were penalised by the unfavourable manufacturing conditions in Europe with higher costs,
North America exports dropped by 42%,
Asia-Pacific saw a fall off around 20%, and Latin America had a 33% decrease. Western Europe remains the most important market with 52% of sales, while eastern Europe accounts for 30%, and 20% is
exported to other parts of the world. In western Europe – Germany accounted for 33.8 million m2
was a far cry from the 50million m2
. This, added Mr Desmet, plus
figures formerly seen. France was just behind at 32.9 million m2 UK held its position at 25 million m2 increased by 22% at 12.6 million m2 Netherlands was flat at 13.9 million m2
and
Spain suffered a significant drop. However, Switzerland’s sales remained
relatively stable, with a decline of less than 1% compared to 2022. “So, there is a scattered image with some
countries holding their volumes better than others,” said Mr Desmet. “It will be curious to see if Germany will still be the biggest market for laminate by next year and to see if France or maybe Great Britain will take first position.” Eastern Europe faced even harsher
conditions, with sales declining by -10.25% (96.7 million m2
sold) compared to 2022. ,
, Turkey , while
Above: Laminate flooring products have reached record low sales volumes in Europe in 2023. PHOTO: SWISS KRONO LAMINATE FLOORING WBPI | April/May 2024 |
www.wbpionline.com
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