16 May 2024: The Global Timber Index (GTI), which tracks the performance of the timber sector in seven pilot countries, has launched its first specialized index, on wood-based panels, thereby increasing the scope and depth of the GTI and preparing the ground for the launch of other specialized GTI indices.

The GTI is a collaborative effort between the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative, with more than 200 enterprises and companies also participating. The aim is to facilitate business information and data exchange on the timber trade and promote collaboration among stakeholders in a stable, transparent and predictable business environment.

The GTI-Wood-based Panel Index (WBP), which covers diverse categories of plywood, fibreboard and particleboard, tracks and monitors overall trends in the wood-based panel industry in eight GTI pilot countries—Brazil, China, the Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand. In 2021, the total production of wood-based panels in these eight countries was 210 million m³, which was 53% of the total global production volume of wood-based panels. The WBP is calculated based on five diffusion indices—1) production; 2) new orders; 3) inventory of raw material; 4) employees; and 5) delivery time—weighted according to their influence on the industrial economy.

Source: International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

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