Page 6 - Professional Parquet International

NEWS

FEP, a market overview

The Board of Directors of the European
Federation of the Parquet Industry met on 19
October 2016 and discussed amongst others both
the parquet situation and recent economic
indicators on the European market. The good
start observed in many reporting European

countries during the first months of
the current year has been
confirmed during the first semester
of 2016, when compared to the same period of last year. Although the reported
parquet sales figures are not booming, the positive trend continues and
activity seems to consolidate in most of Europe. Parquet sales are recovering a
bit in Italy by 1 to 2% but from a very low level. Despite increases in bank
lending, people are still reluctant to invest. A positive vote on the referendum
to support the actual government is necessary to prevent a new crisis. The
information provided to FEP points in the direction of an increase of the parquet sales by 3%
in Austria, reflecting significant increases of investments in buildings. The Belgian market
progressed by an estimated 3% during the first semester of 2016 and is expected to keep this
pace up to the end of the current year. The first half of the year shows rather good results
with an increase by 3% of the French sales although producers of solid wood parquet are not
experiencing such positive developments. These trends should continue as there is no reason
to expect a sudden turnaround. The German market grew with an estimated 3% in the first
six months of the current year but is presently becoming more "difficult".

Woodworking machinery, another positive quarter

The trend has really changed: for some time now, the atmosphere has
been different in the business of technology for wood and wood-based materials
Further evidence of the new trend also comes from the periodical survey by the Studies office of
Acimall, the Confindustria member association, showing that in the second quarter 2016 orders

increased by 21.2 percent compared to the same period
of last year. The positive trend of recent times is
continuing, still driven by foreign markets, where
orders went up by 17.2 percent. The development of
Italian demand is also very good in relative terms (plus
30.4 percent), although it still suffers from the negative
results recorded in the worst years of the crisis. Back to
Acimall survey figures, on the whole, turnover
variation compared to the first quarter 2016 is 9.9
percent: the orders book covers a period of 3 months,
while prices have recorded 1.4 change since January 1st.
According to the quality survey, 47 percent of the
interviewed companies indicate a positive production
trend, 47 percent stable and 6 percent decreasing.
Employment is stable according to 59 percent of the
sample, increasing for 35 percent and decreasing for 6 percent. Available stocks are stationary
according to 70 percent of interviewees, increasing for 18 percent and decreasing according to the
remaining 12 percent. The near-term outlook is illustrated by the forecast survey, which reveals
moderate optimism for 2016: 47 percent of the sample expect further expansion of foreign orders,
while 53 percent say they will remain unchanged. The sentiment is different for the Italian market,
where 6 percent fear shrinkage, 71 percent predict stability and 23 percent expect expansion.

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