|
Report
from
North America
Promotion programme for US hardwoods proposed
A group of US hardwood companies announced in early
February that they will seek to establish a so-called
commodity research and promotion programme for
hardwood sawnwood and plywood. This type of
programme is commonly used in the US for promoting
agricultural products where commodity producers jointly
fund marketing efforts. If the hardwood promotion
programme is approved, the following hardwood
producers would pay a fee to fund the marketing of US
hardwoods: green hardwood sawnwood and kiln-dried
hardwood producers with sales over US$2 million;
hardwood plywood manufacturers who produce over 10
million sq.ft annually. The US Department of Agriculture
would help oversee that the money collected is only used
for approved research and promotion activities.
The first-ever promotion programme for forest products
under the authority of the US Department of Agriculture
was announced in October 2010. Softwood sawnwood
companies will have to pay US$0.35 per thousand board
feet produced or imported into the US, excluding volumes
below 15 million board feet. The projected income would
be US$12-19 million per year, depending on shipment
levels. The softwood industry is expected to vote on the
proposed programme this spring.
The hardwood promotion programme has the potential to
affect markets for tropical wood products. US hardwoods
may gain a higher market share at the expense of other
wood species. On the other hand, both tropical and
temperate hardwoods face competition from non-wood
materials, and a hardwood promotion programme may
have a positive effect for tropical sawnwood producers,
depending on how the programme is implemented.
Wood-composites to dominate growth in decking market
The Freedonia Group has updated its forecasts for the US
decking market (¡°Wood and Competitive Decking¡±
report). Decking demand is expected to grow by 2.7%
annually to 2014. Between 2004 and 2009 demand
declined on the average by -0.6% per year.
Wood continues to account for the majority of the volume
consumed, but much of the anticipated market growth will
be in wood-plastic composites. Wood decking is forecast
to grow just 0.5% per year to 2014, while wood-plastic
composite decking is expected to grow 12.9% annually.
The market share of wood in total decking stood at 86% in
2009 while in 2014 it will be 77%, according to
Freedonia¡¯s forecasts. Consumers perceive wood-plastic
composites as environmentally friendly and hidden
fastener systems make the installation of decks easy.
Tropical wood is expected to have higher demand growth
than softwood species. Ipe is expected to remain popular
and the residential market will provide new growth
opportunities for tropical wood decking.
Furniture orders, shipments and retail market eased in last quarter
The US market for residential furniture weakened in the
last quarter of 2010. The Furniture Buying Index went up
by one point in January 2011 to 73, which is a good sign
for post-Christmas spending, but the index remains below
the benchmark of 80. The Furniture Buying Index is
compiled each month by America's Research Group from
interviews with 5,000-8,000 consumers across the country.
Furniture/Today projects US furniture and bedding sales to
grow 4.8% in 2011 to US$86.5 billion. This compares
with a 2.9% gain in 2010 and an 8.1% decline in 2009.
The recovery from the recession is expected to remain
slow, and it will be a while before market demand returns
to the high levels seen last time in 2007.
New orders for residential furniture increased by 3% from
October 2010 to November 2010, according to the Smith
Leonard survey of manufacturers and distributors.
Compared to November 2009, new orders declined by 5%
in November 2010. The year-to-date gain in new orders
was 4% above 2009. November 2010 furniture exports
were up by 1% compared to October and 7% above yearto-
date 2009. The increase in exports may be related to
imported products rather than US-manufactured furniture.
Furniture inventories remained higher than in November
2009 year (+18%), but they dropped by 3% from the
previous month. This indicates that companies are
readjusting after retail sales tapered off in late summer.
Market trends in dining furniture
Dining furniture accounted for 12% of total furniture
industry sales in the US in 2010, according to
Furniture/Today Market Research. Americans spent an
estimated US$9.6 billion on dining furniture, up by 2%
from 2009. Formal dining sets accounted for US$5.6
billion and casual dining for US$4 billion. A typical
dining furniture set is a table and six chairs. The preferred
styles are contemporary, except at high price points
(US$5,000 or more for a set) where most consumers prefer
traditional styles, according to the Furniture/Today Case
Goods Style Survey 2010. The survey also found that
consumers prefer cleaner styles and solid wood table
extensions.
Related News:
| 
