Arauco’s composite panel division saw sales decrease in Q4, 2023

The company, which has panel production facilities in North America, South America and Europe, said the sales drop was partially offset by a 0.3% increase in average prices during the quarter.

“In North America, although the overall panel market consumption was slower than expected, we did see indications of improving demand in some products (PB & TFL),” it said.

“There is still some excess available supply vs demand in some products such as MDF and plywood. There was downward pressure on prices and volumes, especially in MDF, due to depressed economies and excess supply, especially in the Brazilian market.”

Q4 composite panels production totalled 1.28 million m3, up from 1.16 million m3 in the same quarter a year ago. 

The plywood division reported average prices decreased 6.7%, offset by a 4.6% increase in sales volumes.

In general, the decline in markets continued to be explained by slow economies, low construction (also affected by high interest rates), fallen retail in some countries and oversupply in some producing countries.

The adjusted EBITDA for Arauco’s wood products business, also including sawn timber, was US$138.5m, which translates to a 4% increase, compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Arauco has received approval of Science Based Targets and has committed to reducing its emissions by more than 1.5 million tons by 2030.

The company has been certified as carbon neutral since 2020.