In August, the GTI-Woodbased Panel (GTI-WBP) Index registered 40.7%, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, was below the critical value (50%) for five consecutive months, indicating that the business prosperity of wood-based panel industry represented by the index shrank from last month.

On the demand side, demand for wood-based panels were still declining in the GTI-WBP pilot countries. This month, both the new orders index and the export orders index were below the critical value of 50%, recording 36.5% and 34.7%, respectively. The export orders index saw a larger decrease than the new orders index, indicating the decline in new orders was mainly due to the decrease in export orders.

On the supply side, the downward trend in wood-based panel production had lasted for five months. This month, the production index registered 43.2%, an increase of 4.1 percentage points from the previous month, still below the critical value of 50%. While reducing the production of wood-based panels, the sample enterprises also cleared their inventory of finished products to alleviate the pressure on capital and warehouse.

In terms of prices, the purchase price index for raw materials registered 54.2%, above the critical value for 2 consecutive months, indicating a continued upward trend in raw material prices, which was mainly due to the rise in logistics costs and log prices in some countries.

GTI-Woodbased Panel (GTI-WBP) Report - August 2024.pdf