44 | Panel Perspectives: Italian wood and panels overview
for the Italian wood-based panels industry, which in 2024 lost €197m compared to 2023. Production for the domestic market will fall below €1.3bn in 2024. After a positive change in 2022, with a
Above: Fantoni factory near Udine
total value of almost €3bn, and a contraction in 2023, the turnover of the panel industry closed 2024 with a further decline of 8% on the previous year, reaching just under €2.3bn. The decline in turnover is due to both a reduction in production volume and a fall in prices. The contraction on the domestic market (-11%), accounting for 57% of the total, was more pronounced, with a total value of around €1.3bn, due to a slowdown in demand. Exports were also negative (-3.8% compared to 2023), falling to €975m.
Wood Macrosystem. 2019-2024 imports. Values in millions of euros Country
Austria
Germany China
Poland France
Slovenia Romania Croatia Hungary Portugal Altri Total
331 309 272 207 139 209 113 122 118
763 387 268 253 233 144 185 104 96
107
1,181 491 418 347 270 199 233 132 137 129
474 385 409 308 239 255 206 172 162
Despite heavy reductions, Germany (-12.8%) and France (-12.1%) remain the top two markets. The United States, the third largest market overall and the largest outside the EU, grew by +2.6%. Among the main destinations, there was strong growth towards Poland (+16.2%). Imports were also positive (+12.5%), exceeding €1.4bn. Germany, with an increase of +42.3%, became the leading supplier, overtaking Austria, which remained stable but fell to second place. Imports from Slovenia also rose sharply, gaining one position. Apparent domestic consumption remained stable at €2.7bn. In 2024, the number of Italian companies operating in the panels industry was due to fall to around 250 units (-4.7%), while the total number of employees, just under 7,100, will remain in line with the previous year.
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 870
Peso %
Var. % 2024/23
1,429 1,269 1,272 22.8% 0.3% 507 624 471 345 286 278 392 200 152
215 195 186 182
1,295 1,160 1,604 1,998 1,615 Source: Infodata Centro Studi FederlengnoArredo on Istat data
Wood Macrosystem. 2019-2024 exports. Values in millions of euros Country
France Germany
United Kingdom United States Spain
Switzerland Poland Austria
Netherlands China Altri
Totale
699 569 388 187 173 119 150 90
108
574 674 446 343 132 152 102 125 82 90
730 752 560 405 181 173 134 163 104 107
815 866 622 512 219 190 158 172 129 106
788 774 578 411 224 172 160 167 117 90
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 675
771
Peso %
Var. % 2024/23 15.7% -2.1%
688 14.0% -11.0% 521 456 210 183 154 152 121 94
10.6% -9.9% 9.3% 10.9% 4.3% -6.4% 3.7% 5.9% 3.1% -4.2% 3.1% -8.9% 2.5% 3.2% 1.9% 5.4%
1,489 1,232 4,647
1,514 1,705 1,577 Source: Infodata Centro Studi FederlengnoArredo on Istat data 1,565 31.8% -0.7% 3,952 4,824 5,494 5,058 4,915 100% -2.8% 3,984 3,700 5,140 6,681 5,493 5,592 100% 1.8%
638 11.4% 34.8% 418 371 303 28
7.5% 8.7% 6.6% -9.1% 5.4% -1.6% 5.0% 17.4% 3.8% -15.5% 3.5% -5.7% 3.3% 8.0% 3.3% 12.6%
1,530 27.4% -5.3%
The turnover from the production of semi- finished products for furniture in 2024 fell to €5.4bn, recording the most significant loss among the various wood-based industries. Imports in 2024 (-20.3% compared to 2023) returned to values similar to those of 2019. The Semi-finished Products for Furniture
System, the largest in terms of turnover among the Wood Systems, closed 2024 at -6% compared to 2023, with a value of €5.4 billion. Production for the domestic market, mainly destined for the furniture industry, accounts for 55% of turnover and closes at -5.1% compared to the previous year. Exports, which cover the remaining 45%, decrease by 7.1%. France became the leading market with +4.8%, overtaking the United Kingdom and Germany, which recorded the most significant declines among the main destinations (down 11.8% and 14.2% respectively). Performance was good in the United States (the leading non-EU market), which maintained its fourth position and closed at +11.4%. Imports also fell sharply (-20.3%), despite increases in purchases from China (the leading supplier, +9.1%) and Germany (+17.3%), which became the second largest supplier, overtaking Poland (-45.7%). Apparent domestic consumption fell by -8.1% overall.
The number of Italian companies operating in the semi-finished product for furniture system is steadily declining, reaching 6,500 (-3.2%) in 2024; the total number of employees remains stable at 33,055. ●
FederlegnoArredo is the Italian Federation of Woodworking and furniture industries. Founded in 1945, it associates almost 2,300 enterprises from the first importers of raw materials (wood) to semifinished products (panels) the finished design products (wooden construction products, interior finishings, furniture, office furniture, lightning equipment), ranging from SMEs to industry leaders, and includes 11 sectorial associations and 3 affiliated associations.
WBPI | December 2025/January 2026 |
www.wbpionline.com
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