After a largely positive course of business in the first half-year, the member countries of the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) are anticipating a pronounced weakening in the market for the rest of this year.
At the meeting of members in Amsterdam at the beginning of July, the ETTF members estimated the most important buyer groups’ order backlogs to be still high, but receipts of orders for the rest of this year are expected to be lower than in the first half-year. The increasingly difficult macroeconomic situation, high inflation, and rising mortgage rates are holding back willingness to invest as well as building activity. The recent strong fluctuations in product prices are also causing problems with pricing. A sooner growing increasing reluctance to buy is therefore expected overall. The DIY market has been described as regressive for quite some time now, especially in Spain and France.
The 20 participants from eight ETTF member associations believe the trade’s stocks are still adequate overall and should first be sold off over the rest of this year. Currently under discussion is whether stocks should be replenished to the same level afterwards or should those concerned wait and see how the market develops and initially only buy in as needs dictate.
