14 | Sector Market Update: Hardwood
MARKET CHURN MASKS DEMAND TRENDS
A range of factors are making the UK hardwood market a challenging place. Mike Jeffree reports
INTERHOLCO Africa-made laminated scantlings
The words that come up most in discussion with hardwood suppliers on the state of their market are caution and uncertainty. Customer confidence is being impacted by the wider UK economic slowdown, with the International Monetary Fund in April downgrading its forecast for UK growth in 2026 from 1.3% to 0.8%. The geopolitical situation continues to add to general nervousness. Closure and restructuring of competitors, say some companies have given them a buffer. They’ve been able to pick up some of the casualties’ market share and boost volumes. This may also, they say, have blurred the picture on demand, with squeezed margins giving a truer reflection of what is an increasingly competitive environment. At the same time, importers and distributors point to brighter spots. Growing acceptance of previously lesser used species is reported, while engineered product uptake is also
TTJ | Summer 2026 |
www.ttjonline.com
offering opportunities. Solid demand is also seen for top end product, plus an uptick for certified material from certain sources. One importer-distributor said they have recently seen a ‘significant increase in volumes’. But besides their own proactive sales efforts, they did attribute this to the closure or downsizing of rivals. “It’s mainly been a case of increasing market share,” they said. “And due to this churn in the sector, it’s hard to pin down the true state of demand – it’s probably not at the level we think based on our volumes.”
An importer said business was characterized by a lack of any pattern. “Previously we could say if things were in position x today, they’d be in position y tomorrow, but that no longer applies,” they said. “It’s not just related to the Middle East situation, due to longer-term economic uncertainty things have been bouncing around
aimlessly for a while. We hit budget in 2025 and got to where we wanted to be in the first two months of this year, but then in March one of our competitors unloaded timber on to the market and we all felt the effect.” A continental-based international trader said they had also seen the impact of the uncertain geopolitical and economic situation on customer confidence. “Decision-making cycles have lengthened, and customers are managing inventories more tightly,” they said. “That said, core demand has not disappeared; rather, customers are more price-sensitive and risk-averse, prioritising suppliers who can guarantee continuity.” The key to supplying a more cautious customer-base, they said, is to provide ‘consistent availability, short lead times and a high degree of supply security’. In mainland Europe, they reported that customer activity varied by sector; construction-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69
