A new report predicts a 17% decline in the value of the UK timber & semi-finished products market in 2009.
Market & Business Development’s (MBD) study says the sector, which includes sawn and planed softwoods and hardwoods, plus panels, would shrink again by a further 4% to £1.3bn in 2010.
MBD said the sector had already experienced a 26% reverse in 2008 to a value of £1.83bn, reflecting the economic downturn and associated slip in construction activity.
However, it expects to see the value (at distributors’ prices) of the sector grow by 4-5% in 2011-2013.
Meanwhile, the builders’ joinery sector is forecast to decline by 9% and 6% in 2009 and 2010 respectively, followed by moderate growth in the following three years. The market is expected to be worth £3.98bn in 2013 – an estimated 6% reduction in real terms compared with 2008.
