Based on preliminary member reports obtained during Domotex Hannover, the European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP) announced Friday that wood floor consumption in 2011 in "the European market remained stable in comparison with the previous year."
Still, the market picture is not uniform in light of the ongoing European financial debt crisis, which has hit some countries more than others. As a result, market performance varies considerably from country to country, FEP noted.
The FEP said its preliminary findings were in line with expectations heading into Domotex. European consumption of wood flooring now stands at about 95 million square meters, or 1,022,571,488 square feet, annually. Market growth in 2011 was seen in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden. Also, there are "first indications of a slow but gradual unbending of the protracted strain in Spain."
"Under the circumstances, the overall performance of our industry is certainly commendable," said FEP President Lars Gunnar Andersen. "Parquet is very much alive and one can only hope that the promising results attained by certain countries will gradually spread to other regions as well, thereby contributing to the much desired uniformity in the FEP territory." (In Europe, "parquet" refers to all wood flooring.)
As 2012 begins, the FEP is concerned about increased costs and availability of raw materials and "fierce competition" from Asia, it noted.
FEP underscored that its latest figures remain preliminary, while a definitive picture will be determined during its general assembly meeting on June 7-8 in Istanbul.
