| 21
is stuck with expensive stock that he can’t shift at today’s prices. “We are all in the same boat, with increasing fixed costs and declining gross profits,” said the merchant, adding that there is no real sign of an upturn in the housebuilding market, combined with stamp duty pressures and landlords being discouraged from entering or growing their market.
“It’s really, really tough out there,” said the merchant. “We’re in a phase that I call Darwinian, by which I mean it’s survival of the fittest. I’m sorry to say it, but we need some big capacity to go from the market for others to survive.”
Another large plywood trader in the UK said that he felt that the plywood market was a bit more stable in the summer, helped by a reduction in the duty payable on pine, eucalyptus and okoumé plywood. “Quite a number of types of plywood are now duty-free. This gives some clarity to the market and should last until June 2027,” he said. “FOB pricing has not changed much and freight rates from South America are quite consistent, while sterling has improved against the US dollar and the upshot is that the selling price has become cheaper, by 15% between March and September, based on 6% duty reduction and 10% currency factors, though we would have preferred it to happen more gradually.”
The trader said that with anti-dumping duty imposed by Europe on China, exporters were finding ways around it by shipping through Malaysia, Indonesia, or Vietnam. As a result, he said OSB’s popularity was increasing, leading to upward pressure on pricing towards the latter part of the year. The expected/feared duty imposition on Brazilian elliotis pine had not happened in the summer.
The trader said that with regard to EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulations), all his supplying mills had responded in the correct manner. “The market is quite weak, what with changes in currency, freight, etc and this has pushed prices down faster than we would have liked,” said the trader. “Our customers hear that prices are coming down and expect the price to them to follow accordingly and immediately when we still have more expensive stock, but things should settle down in September, with new stock coming in and freight rates firming up.
“But there are too many players in the merchant market, fighting against each other when demand is flat.
“Everybody thought 2024 wouldn’t be great but 2025 hasn’t been either. Nobody foresees any real improvement until next year.” Another trader said that for the last couple of years, the market had been scraping along the bottom. In the private housebuilding
sector he thought people were waiting to see what happens with interest rates and they haven’t come down as much as hoped, but as the housebuilders have bought the land, the trader felt they will have to build soon. “We began to see some upturn in the private sector in the summer, but in the public sector it is not happening yet and I don’t think it will before 2026. The minimum wage is having a negative effect and so is the increased National Insurance.”
He concluded by saying that volumes of hardwood plywood were quite stable.
THE PICTURE FOR OSB
A major dealer said he knew of a Chinese agent who is currently in negotiations with an OSB manufacturer in China to represent them in the UK market. However, at the same time, there is huge demand for OSB in China and the mills cannot produce enough.
Back in the UK, Kronospan’s plans to build an OSB mill at its Chirk site are still pending. The factory will require a new high-voltage power line and a completely new energy plant to cater for both the chipboard and OSB lines. Quoted timelines for realisation of the project have been 2027-28 previously, but at the moment there is no further news. A trader in plywood and OSB told TTJ that the OSB market was benefiting from anti- dumping duties imposed on Chinese plywood and that lead times for European OSB mills were out to two to four weeks by late July. Prices were beginning to rise accordingly and he expected further increases in September. “The signs are that demand for OSB is quite strong and, even with the price rising, producers are able to get more money in other markets, thus pushing up UK prices, too,” said the trader. “Early in the year, there
was inconsistency in pricing but prices are firming now.”
An OSB manufacturer supplying mainly the UK market confirmed that prices were trending upwards and that lead times were already at three to four weeks in late July. He expected prices to rise further going into the autumn as the market improved. West Fraser, which operates the Inverness plant producing Sterling-branded OSB, posted Half Year 2025 results showing adjusted EBITDA of US$2m for its European engineered wood products division. This is down from US$6m from the same period in 2024. West Fraser said it expects challenging industry demand to persist over the near term. In the longer term, it is more confident for growth prospects.
“In our Europe EWP segment, we continue to expect demand to improve for our MDF, particleboard and OSB panel products in 2025, recognizing there are ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties surrounding interest rates and economic growth in the region,” it said.
The company published a report - Framing the future: The state of timber fame construction report, - together with the Structural Timber Association in June, capturing responses from more than 80 timber frame manufacturers, highlighting a disconnect between government policy ambition and the practical realities of delivery.
UK timber frame manufacturers highlighted growing regulatory pressures and a lack of clarity about how to meet them, while 81% said they wanted OSB sheathing panels with integrated fire resistance, showing how important the issue of fire performance currently is. ■
Above: Kronoply Magnum Board is an OSB build system
www.ttjonline.com | September/October 2025 | TTJ
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 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101
