Panel sales on way up
The recovery observed on the North American particleboard and MDF/HDF markets is increasingly reflected in the shipments statistics of the Composite Panels Association.
North American particleboard volumes recorded the largest quarter-to-quarter growth of the two product categories However, the seeming strength of particleboard in the second quarter of 2012 as much reflected the weakness that had prevailed for particleboard shipments for much of the previous twelve months. Consequently, on a year-over-year basis, MDF/HDF grew substantially faster than particleboard shipments. Compared to the second quarter of 2011, MDF/HDF shipments one year later were 11% higher, whereas particleboard shipments were up just 2%.
