The Board of Directors of the European Federation of the Parquet Industry met on 1 September 2017 and discussed amongst others both the parquet situation and recent economic indicators on the European market.
In general, the parquet business keeps on experiencing a moderate growth and benefiting from the encouraging developments of the economy, especially of the construction activity. When compared to the same period of last year, the provisional results observed for the first half of 2017 point to a continuation of the positive parquet consumption trends observed in 2016 and during the first quarter of 2017. These relatively promising developments are registered in all the countries where FEP members are present including in Nordic countries. No decrease of consumption is reported.
A brief per country recap is provided in the table below.
Market overview
| Austria | The Austrian parquet sales increased by 2% during the first semester 2017 compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, the competition from other flooring solutions remains harsh. |
| Belgium | The indications available point towards a growth of 2.5% of the parquet consumption during the first three months of 2017. |
| Denmark | The Danish parquet market keeps on growing by 1 to 2%, reflecting the performance of the Danish construction activity, especially for projects and ready-made houses. |
| Finland | Parquet sales remain stable on the Finnish market, confirming that Finland is getting out of the red zone after several years of negative developments. |
| France | The French market continues to experience positive trends. Parquet sales grew by an estimated 3% during the first semester 2017. |
| Germany | Data indicate that parquet sales increased by 2% during the first semester of the current year, reflecting the very good performance of the construction sector. On the other hand, there are shortages of craftsmen and the competition with other flooring solutions remains harsh. |
| Italy | Parquet sales rose by 1.5% during the first half of the year 2017, reflecting the positive economic developments observed in Italy. |
| Netherlands | The information received points to further significant improvements on the Dutch market – parquet sales rose by an estimated 7% during the first semester 2017, reflecting the performance of the housing sector. The affordability of wood raw material and the availability of some species are problematic. |
| Norway | Compiled data indicate that the Norwegian market remains stable during the first half of 2017. Prices of apartments increased further during this period. |
| Poland | The information gathered points to a moderate increase by 2 to 3% of the parquet sales on the Polish market. |
| Spain | The Spanish market remains stable. All indicators are positive and the expectations for the rest of the year 2017 point to a continuation or an improvement of this trend. |
| Sweden | Compiled data point to a further significant increase by 3 to 4% of the parquet sales in Sweden during the first six months of 2017. This trend is supported by the stable development of construction projects. |
| Switzerland | Parquet consumption remains flat in Switzerland during the first semester of 2017. No significant increase or decrease of the market is expected during the second half of the year. |