Timber Wholesalers and Producers Have Been Registering Slightly Higher Demand

In the early weeks of 2012, timber wholesalers and producers have been registering slightly higher demand for hardwood gluelam boards in Germany and Switzerland than they did a year ago. In contrast, export business to northern and southern European countries has been slow so far. Following the IMM Cologne furniture fair in mid-January, the volumes ordered by the furniture industry in Germany and Poland and the kitchen-furniture industry in central Europe rose above last year’s levels. Timber merchants in Ger-many and Switzerland had already raised their order volumes at the beginning of January as staircase producers in particular were working off orders from the previous year. Staircase producers have a backlog of orders of several months. Brisk business activity is therefore expected in this segment for another few months to come. Source: euwid-wood-products.com