European Parquet Production off 20% Last Year

Moscow, Russia, June 9, 2010--The European Parquet Flooring Federation estimates that there was a 20% reduction in European parquet flooring production last year to a volume of 67.5 million square meters, according to Lesprom Network.

Particularly steep declines in production were recorded in Italy, the Nordic countries, Poland and Spain during 2009. However, all countries covered by the federation membership were affected to some extent, ITTO reported.

The leading producers in the FEP region in 2009 were Poland (17.5% of total production), Germany (14.8%), Sweden (13.8%), Austria (10.7%), Spain (9.8%), and France (9.4%).

In 2009, multi-layer parquet increased its share of production in FEP countries by 1% and now accounts for 78% of total parquet production.

After several years of stabilization, the share of solid wood parquet in European production slipped 16% last year. The remainder of production comprises mosaic and lamparquet, each with a 3% share.

Meanwhile, consumption of parquet flooring in the FEP area fell by 15.31% in 2009 to 86 million square meters. Consumption of parquet flooring dropped across the FEP region, although particularly large reductions were recorded in Hungary, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain and Poland.