The Woodworking Chain and the availability of raw material Mr Laszlo Döry Vice-Chairman, CEI-Bois President, European Panel Federation European Economic and Social Committee - Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) HEARING "Opportunities and challenges for a more competitive European woodworking and furniture sector Prague, 9 June 2011
The woodworking and furniture chain
The EU woodworking and furniture industries Economic 180 billion/year 365,000 companies Mainly SME Social 2.4 million workers Strong in rural areas, Major contributor to rural development Environmental Sustainable raw material supply Wood = only naturally renewable material Growing forest area and growing stock in Europe Low energy consumption
The EU woodworking and furniture industries Vital for economy, innovative and eco-friendly Committed to ensuring career and employment security, maintaining health and safety of workers and developing skills and competences
250000 Production value (after NACE revision) 239.689 200000 206.922 210.829 223.419 220.898 179.995 150000 100000 50000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Growth rates in the woodworking sector 2004-2008 26,60% 30% 25% Furniture 20% 15% Sawmilling 5,60% 2,20% 10% 5% 0% Other wood products
Production value: relative importance of subsectors
Distribution of production value Furniture 48,0% Sawing and planing 15,0% Other 4,0% Packaging 5,0% Panels 10,0% Construction elements 18,0%
Distribution of production value Woodworking stricto-sensu Packaging 9,6% Other 7,7% Sawing and planing 28,9% Construction elements 34,6% Panels 19,2%
Distribution of employment
Major impact of financial and economic crisis on the woodworking sector Production value Nace 16 (woodworking): decline by 20.6 % from 2008 to 2009 Nace 16.1 (Sawmilling): - 19.2% Nace 16.2 (Panels): -20.3% Production value Nace 31 (Furniture): decline by 22.3% from 2008 to 2009
2010: Start of recovery Economic improvement: yes, but still far behind previous years Expectations for 2011 and 2012 rather modest Challenging raw material situation Competition for wood, also due to policies promoting renewable energy sources
Wood provides many advantages Naturally renewable Flexible Sustainable Carbon neutral Strong Safe Recyclable
People have used wood for millennia for many purposes: primarily as a construction material; and for making tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks, and paper.
Wood Aesthetically, structurally and environmentally, wood is an important construction material inspires new directions in the design and construction of timber buildings.
TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE: USE WOOD!
wood-framed buildings show lower GHG emissions by 26% and 31% than their steel and concrete-framed counterparts; traditional homes consume 17% and 16% more embodied energy and release 14% and 23% more air pollutants than a wood-framed home.
Carbon neutrality
Wood industry: key to an optimum use of wood raw material Mainly sourcing directly from forest owners and using important volumes of recycled material Main aim: produce sustainable wood-based products acting as carbon stores for a wide variety of applications Raw material (wood) costs require optimised raw material use: Bark for the production of heat and energy Production residues as raw material for wood-based panel and pulp & paper industries or for bio-energy products
Wood industry: key to an optimum use of wood raw material Key competences rely with the sector Wood industries are experts in handling wood raw material We are part of the solution!
Impact from bioenergy policies Wood industry supports the overall goal to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels BUT: Policies focus strongly on biomass use Biomass = WOOD Subsidy schemes lead to a distortion of raw material markets
Raw material availability: Requests from the woodworking sector Stop (subvention) policies promoting direct burning of wood for energy purposes Promote the cascading principle: products, reuse, repair and recycling, final destruction Consider wood as a critical raw material in view of the various strong demands
WOODWORKING INDUSTRY.YES WE CARE!!! February 2010 REF-Wood Social Partner project Project carried out with the financial support of the EU Commission
WOODWORKING INDUSTRY.YES WE CARE!!! April 2010: LESS DUST Social Partner project Project carried out with the financial support of the EU Commission
Thank you for your attention European Panel Federation CEI-Bois aisbl Rue Montoyer 24 B-1000 Bruxelles www.cei-bois.org